Return of Duelist Kingdom
by Damon S
Summary: Yugi and his friends return to the place where it all began for a new tournament. New characters, new villain and a bunch of detailed duels. Enjoy!
1. Two Years After

Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of its characters except for the ones I made up. Also, some stuff might be wrong like what really became of the Egyptian God cards, but I can't translate Japanese so I have to wait for the damn show to hurry up. Anyway, Enjoy!  
  
Several months after Yugi defeated Marik and took won all 3 the Egyptian God cards, Ishizu Ishtar called Yugi for a private meeting into asking for the return of 3 Egyptian God cards, Yugi and the Spirit of the Pharaoh both agreed, knowing that with these cards wielded terrible destruction and not even they could insure the card's safety so they gave them to Ishizu to seal them away never to be used again...  
  
Two years had passed since then and in Domino High School Yugi wasn't paying attention to the health teacher's instructions on the correct way to treat an unconscious victim; he was busy looking at his Millennium Puzzle, remembering when he would duel people of great skill, but since then, not an interesting thing has come up.  
  
Then, the school bell rang and school was out for the weekend. When Yugi was walking down the hall, a young man with shaggy blonde hair, dressed in the same blue school uniform as Yugi ran towards him.  
  
"Hey Yuge," he said gasping for air from all the running. "Didja hear? Kaiba... he didn't enter... the world... champ-championship.  
  
"What!?" Yugi was as shocked as Joey was. "Kaiba didn't enter?"  
  
"Yeah," Joey told him and now caught his breath. "He's hid himself away in his place, and some guy from America waltzed in and claimed the title."  
  
"Well whoever it was, it would be nice to meet them," Yugi told Joey.  
  
"And duel 'em, right? Joey said with a grin.  
  
Yugi laughed and said "If it ever comes up."  
  
Tea and Tristan met up with them and they all began walking towards Yugi's game shop while talking about numerous things, Duel Monsters, their past duels, and what they thought would come in the future.  
  
When they arrived to the game shop, they got in and marveled at some of the new cards Yugi's Grandpa had just gotten.  
  
"Man, those would look good in my deck," Joey commented looking at an Emerald Dragon for $30, and a Tyrant Dragon for $75, sadly they were out of his price range.  
  
"But you spent the last of your money on some booster packs the other day and didn't get anything worthwhile from those." Tea told Joey. "I might have some money in my room, but thirty bucks isn't likely," Joey said.  
  
"Well I could help you out there," Yugi said to him.  
  
"But remember, Joey's tab in the store's already 231 bucks," Tristan added. "When are ya payin' that off Joe?"  
  
"When I enter my next tournament of course!" Joey said with confidence.  
  
"But it's been two years since your last tournament, which you placed fourth in," Tristan added.  
  
"Ugh don't remind me," Joey said. "But I plan to do much better maybe I'll enter the world championships and knock Miss Priss, Kaiba off his high- horse!"  
  
"Okay, Joey you do that," Tristan answered sarcastically but Joey didn't seem to care and then a door off to the side of the game store opened and an old man looking a lot like Yugi came out.  
  
"Welcome home, Yugi," said Yugi's Grandpa coming out of the back room holding some really rare single cards and placing them inside a glass case.  
  
"Hi Grandpa," said Yugi. "Are those the new cards?"  
  
"Yep," he said. "These cards will make Duel Monsters far more interesting."  
  
"Oh wait, isn't the TV broadcasting of the World Championships today?" Yugi asked.  
  
"Hmm, I think so," Grandpa said, "Well I won't bother you kids."  
  
With that, Yugi, Joey, Tristan, and Tea went upstairs to the living room, Tristan sat down on the couch, Tea sat on the other side, Joey sat from across the coffee table and Yugi turned on the TV, sat down leaning his back against the coffee table and already a duel was underway.  
  
"Here we see for his second appearance here, and current Nationals Champion, Ryan Stone from the USA taking on Taro Tanaka of Japan both eager to earn the other seat to challenge Michael Laskow also from the USA and this is also Laskow's third appearance here in the World Championships and before this he was the Regional Champion of the Northeast in America as well as the former Nationals Champion 3 years ago, this may be the very first World Championships where Japan isn't in the finals," said the English (or Japanese in this case) commentator. "This is probably the cause of defending world champion Seto Kaiba of Japan not entering..."  
  
"Yeah that was strange," Yugi told the others. "It's not like Kaiba to show off and prove he's still number one."  
  
On the field the life point count was at  
  
Ryan: 900 and  
  
Taro: 2700  
  
Ryan had 2 cards in his hand, three magic or trap cards face down on the field and one Zoa (2600/1900) on the field in attack mode.  
  
Taro had 3 cards in his hand, two magic or trap cards face down, one Mask of the Accursed face up on the field on Zoa, one 1 Spirit Reaper (300/200) in defense mode, and one Gaia the Fierce Knight (2300/2100).  
  
-Taro's turn-  
  
Taro drew a card, played Giant Soldier of Stone in Defense Mode and flipped one of his facedown cards, Ring of Magnetism decreasing Zoa to 2100/1400 and flipped his other facedown card, Black Luster Ritual. He sacrificed Gaia the Fierce Knight and Giant Soldier of Stone to bring out his ritual monster, Black Luster Soldier (3000/2500) ending his turn.  
  
-Ryan's turn-  
  
Ryan drew a card but there was nothing he could do and his sullen face showed it and he ended his turn.  
  
-Taro's turn-  
  
Taro initiated Chaos Soldier to attack but Ryan answered back by activating one of his face-down cards, Metalmorph destroying Ring of Magnetism and Mask of the Accursed, by turning his Zoa into Metal Zoa (3000/2300) and he flipped his other face down card, Limiter Removal doubling Metal Zoa's attack to 6000 and destroyed his Chaos Soldier as well as Taro's life points (-300).  
  
"There, you've seen it folks!" exclaimed the commentator. "This is the first all-American and non-Japan finals ever. This is history in the making! Michael Laskow VS Ryan Stone in the title for World Champion!"  
  
Taro and Ryan shook hands and Ryan walked away to get ready for the final match.  
  
"Wow," responded Tristan. "Never thought I'd see the day Japan wasn't there."  
  
"Yeah if Kaiba was there, Ryan would have had it much tougher, he'd have probably lost," Yugi said.  
  
"So 'cause Kaiba's havin' a hissy fit, these two guys are dueling?" Joey asked.  
  
"Pretty much," answered Tristan. "I wonder how these guys would do against Kaiba."  
  
"I hope he'd get the snot kicked out of him!" laughed Joey. "And Mr. Blue- Eyes would be begging for mercy, oh, when will their duel start!?"  
  
Right after Joey said that, their duel had begun. They both stepped onto a dueling platform that has all the holographic images and they each drew 5 cards and from a previous coin toss, Michael would go first.  
  
Life Point Count  
  
Michael: 4000 Ryan: 4000  
  
He drew a card and played Great Angus (1800/600) in attack mode and with that, a giant, scarred, red monster with protruding tusks appeared onto the field and he also played 3 magic or trap cards facedown.  
  
-Ryan's turn-  
  
Ryan drew a card, played Heavy Storm destroying all of Michael's magic and trap cards (Mirror Force, Magic Cylinder, and Trap Hole), then played Block Attack putting Great Angus in defense mode, then played Harpie's Brother (1800/600) and a man with red-feathered wings and a triple-bladed claw on his right arm appeared and equipped it with Big Bang Shot making its power climb to 2200 and sent it to attack Great Angus. The monster did so by flying high up and came crashing down and sliced the red beast with an explosion, also hitting Michael and his life points dropped by 1500.  
  
Michael: 2500  
  
Ryan: 4000  
  
"Oh man Michael's just got his butt kicked major and that was Ryan's opening move!" shouted Joey.  
  
"Don't count Michael out yet, Joey," replied Yugi. "I think he has something planned."  
  
-Michael's turn-  
  
Michael drew a card and played one card facedown, and also played the magic card De-Spell destroying Big Bang Shot as well as Harpie's Brother, removing him from the duel and he played his final card face down in defense mode ending his turn.  
  
-Ryan's turn-  
  
Ryan drew a card and played La Jinn the Mystical Genie of the Lamp (1800/1000) in attack mode and attacked his face down card. The card was Cyber Jar and its effect activated. It exploded greatly destroying both La Jinn and itself, and then Michael and Ryan picked up 5 cards. Ryan special summoned one Archfiend Soldier (1900/1500), one Master Kyonshee (1750/1000), one Mechanicalchaser (1850/800), and one Giant Red Seasnake (1800/800), his other card was the magic card Polymerization which was placed in his hand.  
  
Michael special summoned 2 cards face down in defense mode (Aqua Madoor 1200/2000, and Giant Soldier of Stone 1300/2000) and his other cards were Trap Hole, Shadow Ghoul (1600/1300), and Fissure.  
  
-Michael's turn-  
  
Michael drew a card, played the magic card Fissure to destroy the monster with the weakest attack, Master Kyonshee and he also played 2 magic or trap cards face down and ended his turn.  
  
-Ryan's turn-  
  
Ryan drew a card, sacrificed his Giant Red Seasnake to bring out Jinzo (2400/1500) and the red serpent vanished and was replaced by a tall man with futuristic armor all over and attacked and destroyed his facedown card, Giant Soldier of Stone and Michael flipped one of his facedown card, Scapegoat bringing out four different colored sheep (0/0) in defense mode but two were quickly destroyed by Ryan's other 2 monsters.  
  
-Michael's turn-  
  
Michael drew a card, played one card face down in defense mode and ended his turn.  
  
-Ryan's turn-  
  
Ryan drew a card and played the magic card Fairy Meteor Crush on Jinzo and attacked one of the scapegoats devastating Michael even further. Ryan initiated his other two monsters, Mechanicalchaser and Archfiend Soldier to destroy his remaining scapegoat and the facedown card. However, the face down card was Newdoria and its effect allowed Michael to destroy any monster on the field, of course he chose Jinzo. And Suddenly, the man of metal and the hideous Newdoria vanished from the field.  
  
Michael: 100  
  
Ryan: 4000  
  
-Michael's turn-  
  
Michael drew a card, and played the magic card Pot of Greed, and drew two more cards. They were just what he needed. He first played Dark Hole sucking in the two monsters on Ryan's side and his facedown defender then he played his own monster card Yata-Garasu and a small crow appeared and attacked Ryan for 200 damage. Plus, Ryan had to skip his draw step and the little crow flew back into Michael's hand.  
  
Michael: 100 Ryan: 3800  
  
-Ryan's turn-  
  
Ryan couldn't play any of his monsters as they were too strong and he couldn't draw anything either so he had to pass, but he knew was done for.  
  
Yata-Garasu would continue attacking him and there was nothing Ryan could do and so he placed his hand on his deck to concede the duel but Michael ignored it and waited for his life-points dropped to zero, after 19 turns.  
  
Michael: 100 Ryan: 0  
  
"There it is folks! Michael Laskow is the World Champion! The World Champion!!" announced the commentator as the crowd cheered. Ryan didn't look to happy from the results but he still shook Michael's hand as they left the platform and Michael stood in the center of the arena, basked in all his glory.  
  
"Wow," responded Joey. "I was sure Ryan was gonna win it but then that guy drew that sky rat."  
  
"Never underestimate your enemy," Yugi told Joey. "That card is extremely rare and used correctly, can win a duel."  
  
"Still, it was a cheap trick; it requires almost no strategy, a total no- brainer." Joey added.  
  
"No-brainer, huh? Sounds like the perfect card for you, Scarecrow," remarked Tristan.  
  
"What!?" said Joey getting up. "Well what's with that haircut? Do you slay vampires with that spike?"  
  
Tristan stormed up and before the two hotheads could engage in a battle of fisticuffs, Yugi's Grandpa came upstairs with a package in his hand.  
  
"Yugi, you've got a package," said Grandpa. "It was delivered by some men in suits, must be pretty important if they bothered to deliver it."  
  
Tristan and Joey simmered down and looked at Yugi who took the package and opened up the taped up side and out came a videotape with a card, a pure white one on both sides. He looked at the tape and put it in the VCR and pressed play.  
  
"Who was it from?" asked Tristan.  
  
"The address on the box said from 'Salazar Enterprises,'" answered Yugi. "I never heard of them."  
  
The tape was almost finished loading and they were all wondering what could be on it...  
  
NOTE: Sorry if this chapter was boring or if I got one of the characters not acting like themselves, but please send me a review to tell me what ya think about it. 


	2. A New Evil Part I

As the tape was finished loading, a black background and a Chinese-ish Dragon appeared forming an "S" and then went from realistic looking to a blue outline of itself, still looking like an "S" and to the right came an underline that went out further and from it raised several letters spelling "Salazar." Below it dropped the word "Enterprises."  
  
The logo faded and a female voice said "Salazar Enterprises has purchased Industrial Illusions' extremely popular game, "Duel Monsters..."  
  
"What?!" Yugi exclaimed. "They sold the game?!?"  
  
"Calm down Yuge," Joey said. "It's not like they'd send you a tape to just tell you that."  
  
"...and with owner Vincent Salazar's wealthy purchase..." a picture of his face was shown, he was Hispanic, and he had long black hair that he held up by a ponytail. "...he's kicking off Duel Monsters by throwing a tournament held on a familiar place to some duelists known as "Duelist Kingdom..." with that, dozens different pictures of the familiar place to Yugi and his friends appeared of the forest, the ocean view, the rocky landscapes, and the castle.  
  
"Duelist Kingdom?" questioned Tristan. "He bought that too? How much money does this guy have?"  
  
"...the tournament is open to anyone who has entered a recent tournament is invited and they shall travel to Duelist Kingdom by boat..." then, there were pictures of five large ships all with an blue outline of a dragon forming an "S" on the ends of the port and starboard sides. "when you arrive, you shall have a new battle system ready so have your duel discs on hand. Also, Duelists will be given a white card which will adjust your duel discs system to the new battle system; however duelists won't be able to duel at all without this white card when on Duelist Kingdom. When arriving on the island, you'll be given a familiar object, a dueling glove..." pictures of three new dueling gloves were shown but these dueling gloves were sea blue, blood red, and forest green and the wrists were slightly bigger. "...but now you must fill your dueling glove with 15 star chips, but these ones are a bit smaller than the originals don't try using the same ones from last time if you have them. And any duelist that loses a duel must ante up a card of their opponent's choice as well as an equal amount of star chips. The ships set sail on 8:00 PM Friday, June 17, 2005 (the story takes place several years in the future FYI). Happy Dueling!"  
  
The video ended and static appeared on the screen. Yugi noticed it was 11:00 PM and decided to turn in and everyone began leaving Joey was the last.  
  
"This Salazar guy probably didn't invite me like every other tournament I've been in..." Joey told Yugi as he headed for the door.  
  
"Well you've still managed to get to the finals each time, remember?" Yugi reminded him.  
  
"Yeah, yeah," Joey opened the door and walked out. "See ya, Yuge!"  
  
Yugi went upstairs and got changed to go to bed, set his Millennium Puzzle off to the side excited about the tournament and fell asleep...  
  
"Hey! Wake up!" a voice shouted. "Muto, get up!"  
  
"Huh?" Yugi awoke to find himself not in his room, but a realm of darkness with purple mist low to the ground. The floor couldn't be seen and Yugi wasn't in his PJs, but his normal clothes but his Millennium Puzzle was absent. And when he looked up he saw a man wearing a white robe and had his head covered by a turban and his face was covered up by a cloth.  
  
"Yugi Muto, King of Games," said the robed man. "Your puzzle is mine. Hand it over or you will die. "  
  
"What?" Yugi was shocked to hear this but also, the voice sounded oddly familiar and yet at the same time it was a completely different voice. "You're not getting my puzzle!"  
  
"It's not like you have a choice in the matter Yugi," he told him as he picked up Yugi by his shirt and tossed him to the ground.  
  
Yugi hit the ground, still confused on where he was. But then Yugi saw the Millennium symbol appear and the spirit of the puzzle appeared before him with the puzzle around his neck. The spirit turned and faced the robed man.  
  
"Leave him out this! You want my puzzle? Then we shall duel you for it." With that, Yugi stood up and vanished within the Spirit. Yami Yugi and the robed man's decks appeared and they shuffled them then said to each other in unison.  
  
"Let's Duel!"  
  
Yami Yugi: 4000  
  
Robed Man: 4000  
  
"I'll go first," Yugi said as he and the robed man drew 5 cards and Yugi drew an additional one. "I play Beta the Magnet Warrior (1700/1500) in attack mode and I lay one magic or trap card facedown ending my turn."  
  
-Robed Man's turn-  
  
"Very well," said the robed man and he drew one card. "I first play Gravekeeper's Spear Soldier (1500/1000) in attack mode," and with that, a man in a black robe wielding a spear with snakes encircling the base of the blade. "And I play the magic card Gravekeeper's Servant as well as the field card Necrovalley," the eternal darkness the two were in turned into a desert and cliffs rose up on their sides but the dark purple mist remained. "That increases my Spear Soldier's attack and defense to 2000/1500 and I attack your Magnet Warrior."  
  
The Spear Soldier hurled the spear and it impaled Beta deeply and the Spear Soldier pulled out the spear and instead of vanishing from the field like normal, Beta's corpse remained and the wound where it was killed remained as well.  
  
"Don't worry, your monster doesn't remain on the field it's still dead and because of Necrovalley, you can't revive it," he told Yugi.  
  
-Yami Yugi's turn-  
  
Yugi drew one card and said "I play one card facedown in defense mode and I play one more magic or trap card facedown and I end my turn."  
  
-Robed Man's turn-  
  
"I draw one card, and I play Gravekeeper's Assailant (1500/1500)," a black robed man appeared wielding a sword with a jagged blade. "and Necrovalley raises his stats to 2000/2000 and with my Spear Soldier to attack your facedown card."  
  
The Spear Soldier hurled his spear into the facedown card, it was revealed to be Gamma the Magnet Warrior (1500/1800) and it was impaled like Beta but this time through the neck and it fell to the ground with its other fallen comrade.  
  
"Also, my Spear Soldier's special effect allows me to deal damage to you even if they're in defense mode," he added. "And with Gravekeeper's Assailant, I'll attack you directly."  
  
The Warrior ran fast to strike Yugi but Yugi flipped one of his facedown cards and a hexagram went around Gravekeeper's Assailant and stopped him from attacking and it kneeled down.  
  
"Spellbinding Circle stops your monster from attack and it can't attack or change position as long as it is out."  
  
"Then I end my turn," the robed man said.  
  
-Yami Yugi's turn-  
  
"I draw my card and play the magic card Dark Magic Curtain by paying half of my life points I'm allowed to Special Summon a Dark Magician (2500/2100) from my deck and then my deck is then shuffled. Then I end my turn playing Magical Knives destroying your Spear Soldier."  
  
The Spear Soldier was gored by several knives and fell to the ground still in his stabbed state.  
  
Yami Yugi: 1900 Robed Man: 4000  
  
-Robed Man's turn-  
  
"I play the magic card Pot of Greed, and play Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy your Spellbinding Circle also, sacrifice my Assailant to bring out my Gravekeeper's Chief (1900/1200)," he said as he drew his card and the Assailant's soul was sucked out and it fell lifeless to the ground and what took its place was a man in a robe with a green trim plus it was wielding a long staff with a cobra's head at the end. "And from Necrovalley, his stats grow to 2400/1700, ending my turn."  
  
-Yami Yugi's turn-  
  
"Well that still isn't enough to vanquish my Dark Magician," Yugi told him as he drew his card. "Attack Dark Magician! Dark Magic Attack!"  
  
As his Dark Magician fired several bolts of black electricity, the robed man discarded a card from his hand to the graveyard and a sarcophagus appeared and blocked the attack and shattered to pieces as it fell to the ground.  
  
"If I discard my Charm of Shabti to my hand to the graveyard, it defends all my gravekeepers and I still have two more," the robed man answered. "Also, because of my card Gravekeeper's Servant, you have to discard the top card from your deck to the graveyard."  
  
Yugi did so but the card he had to discard was Valkyrion, the Magna Warrior.  
  
-Robed Man's turn-  
  
He drew his card and played one magic card, Dimensionhole and his Gravekeeper's Chief got sucked into a hole in the sky and vanished and it would be gone for one turn and he played one card facedown in defense mode ending his turn.  
  
-Yami Yugi's turn-  
  
Yugi drew his card, played a magic or trap card facedown and attacked with his Dark Magician but it was a Morphing Jar and due to the rules, Yugi and the Robed Man sent the cards in their hands to the graveyard and drew 5 cards and ended his turn.  
  
-Robed Man's turn-  
  
"I draw another card and my Gravekeeper's Chief returns to the field from Dimensionhole and I equip it with the Magic Card Black Pendant and," he said as the pendant appeared around the Chief's neck. "His power grows to 2900 and now Gravekeeper's Chief! Kill the Dark Magician! Cobra Staff Strike!"  
  
The Gravekeeper threw his staff to the ground and it turned into a green cobra and grew greatly, much bigger than that of the Dark Magician and the pendant suspending from his neck fired a blast of black energy at the cobra making the its fangs grow even longer, now protruding from its mouth as well and its whole body grew several feet and its green scales turned black and it then went to devour the Dark Magician.  
  
"Not so fast," Yugi said. "I play my trap card, Magical Hats, concealing my Dark Magician as well as 2 other magic cards," Yugi shuffled his Dark Magician with two magic cards and placed them down and three huge hats appeared each with a question mark on each of them. "Now choose."  
  
"Very well, I choose the hat on my right," the robed man said as the black cobra obeyed and dove towards the hat and ate it whole.  
  
"Looks like you chose wrong," said Yugi as the remaining hats vanished revealing the Dark Magician on the robed man's left.  
  
-Yami Yugi's turn-  
  
"I draw," Yugi did so and smirked at the card he drew. "This Duel will soon be over, thief. I first play Celtic Guardian (1400/1200) and I play Dark Chaos Ritual."  
  
With that Dark Magician and Celtic Guardian and stood beneath a platform with a hexagram on it and their bodies vanished and then what replaced them was a great and powerful spellcaster, the Magician of Black Chaos (2800/2600) and Yugi played the magic card Fissure destroying the robed man's weakest face-up monster, that was Gravekeeper's Chief and the earth beneath him opened up and closed in on him but not before the Black Pendant fired a black blast of energy right at Yugi dealing 500 damage.  
  
"Now I'll attack you directly! Attack Magician! Chaos Scepter Blast!" Yugi shouted and the Magician twirled his staff around and pointed it right at the robed man firing a black ball of energy that grew bigger and bigger as it came closer and when they connected a great explosion came with smoke surrounding him.  
  
Yugi: 1500 Robed Man: 1200  
  
When the smoke began to clear, Yugi saw that the cloth surrounding the robed man's mouth was destroyed from the attack but still couldn't make out who it was.  
  
The wind took care of that by blowing away the smoke and Yugi gasped at who he saw that he was dueling.  
  
"You!" was his shocked response... 


	3. A New Evil Part II

The robed person was revealed to be...  
  
"Shadi!" shouted Yugi. "Why are you dueling me?"  
  
"I am not Shadi, foolish one," said Shadi, whose voice sounded in unison with an unknown voice and on his forehead was the millennium symbol illuminating gold. "This weakling is my pawn and I have total control over him."  
  
"How are you controlling him?" Yugi asked.  
  
"You may remember this little thing called the Millennium Rod, correct?" he asked. "Well I stumbled upon it and it has given me nothing but great success ever since I got it.  
  
"You monster! Release Shadi at once!" Yugi shouted again.  
  
"You are in no position to tell me what to do," he said. "How about we finish our duel then we'll start talking business. If I recall you ended your turn dealing that devastating display of raw power, well now it is my turn and I draw."  
  
Yami Yugi: 1900 Shadi/?????: 1200  
  
He did so and looked at his cards and to the Magician of Black Chaos and smirked.  
  
Shadi's/????? turn  
  
"I play Gravekeeper's Cannonholder (1400/1200) in attack mode and because of Necrovalley, his stats grow to 1900/1700 and I play one magic or trap card facedown, ending my turn."  
  
-Yami Yugi's turn-  
  
'He's awfully sure of himself,' thought Yugi. 'He probably has another Charm of Shabti in his hand and that facedown card is probably something to counter my magician's attack and so, I'd better switch to the defensive.'  
  
"I draw my card and switch my Magician of Black Chaos to defense mode and play one magic or trap card face down and end my turn playing one card face down in defense mode."  
  
-Shadi's/????? turn-  
  
"So, your fear got the best of you and your waste of a turn was all I needed." He said as he drew his card. "I play one card face down in defense mode and end my turn thanks for that, you little coward."  
  
-Yami Yugi's turn-  
  
"Nice try, but you can't manipulate me to attack, now that I know you have a trap card face down. First I draw and then I play De-Spell, destroying your Necrovalley," with that, the rock and desert scenery vanished as well as the dead bodies of all the fallen monsters.  
  
"And now I play the magic card, Monster Reborn reviving my monster Beta the Magnet Warrior (1700/1500) and I sacrifice it to bring out my Summoned Skull (2500/1200) in attack mode, ending my turn."  
  
-Shadi's/????? turn-  
  
"You were correct about one thing, my face down card was a trap, Call of the Haunted and I revive my Gravekeeper's Chief (1900/1200) and flip my face down card, Gravekeeper's Spy (1200/2000) and with his effect I take from my deck and special summon another Gravekeeper, the Gravekeeper's Watcher (1000/1000) but I don't need his effect to wipe you out. I'll sacrifice three of my gravekeepers to wipe out all your remaining life points."  
  
The soul of the Gravekeeper's Spy went into the cannon but before it could fire, Yugi activated his face down card.  
  
"I activate my trap card, Horn of Heaven destroying my Summoned Skull, but even more, it also destroys your Cannonholder." Yugi said.  
  
"No! This can't be! I left my monsters open for a direct attack!" he shouted.  
  
-Yugi's turn-  
  
"You'll never claim my puzzle and now I'll switch my Magician to attack mode and destroy your remaining life points." Yugi said firmly and then pointed with his hand towards Gravekeeper's Watcher. "Go Magician of Black Chaos! Chaos Scepter Blast!"  
  
The Magician fired blast of energy that reduced the Gravekeeper's Watcher to dust. And as the duel ended the duel monsters faded leaving Yugi and the controlled Shadi in the dark Shadow Realm.  
  
Yami Yugi: 1900  
  
Shadi/?????: 0  
  
"Now that you lost, release Shadi from your grasp!" Yugi shouted.  
  
"Sorry, that wasn't part of the deal," he answered back. "Seeing that display of a duel was most impressive if you want him back come to my tournament!"  
  
"What?" Yugi was now confused.  
  
"I might as well tell who I am," he said. "I am Vincent Salazar and it will only be a matter of time until that puzzle will be around my neck."  
  
"Salazar!" Yugi was now even more confused. "What do you want with my puzzle?"  
  
"Silence," Shadi/Salazar told him. "I am in control here. Now you will come to my tournament, and..."  
  
Suddenly, Salazar began to lose control over Shadi and an uncontrolled Shadi gave a message to Yugi.  
  
"Yugi..." Shadi said with a struggle. "You must help... not just for me, but for the people this man will surely torture. He wields terrible power, and with it, he has enough power to control any duelist in his tournament but what you must know is that he has... ugh, ack—"  
  
"Shut up!" shouted Salazar retaking control over Shadi again, "he told you too much, but anyway, yes you'd had better come to the tournament and bring with you that puzzle and the Millennium Tauk (called Necklace in the US version) or I well send people to take it and kill the ones you know and care for. This will all be clear to you soon I'll see you in a few months. But in the meantime, here's an old friend of yours, it belonged to you but I'll win it's a matter of time until its mine again." He threw him a card and Yugi instantly recognized it.  
  
"Osiris!" Yugi eyes lit up but only faded when he looked back at the controlled Shadi. "Why are you giving this back to me?"  
  
"Because like a fool you gave this ultimate power back to that foolish woman so technically you never really lost this card in a duel so it should still be yours... but I will win it from you in a duel." Shadi/Salazar told him.  
  
"Woman?" Yugi questioned but then gasped. "Ishizu! You better not have harmed her."  
  
"Relax, she's fine but that is a different matter." He told Yugi. "You better conserve your energy and prepare for the tournament and don't forget to bring your two millennium items with you. This dream is over."  
  
"Dream?" With that, Yugi fell into the darkness that was around him only to wake up in a cold sweat and not in his clothes anymore but his PJs again.  
  
"Huh? Was that all a dream?" Yugi asked himself but he saw that the Millennium Puzzle that was originally on his nightstand was now around his neck and the Egyptian god card, Saint Dragon, God of Osiris was placed next to deck face up. "No it wasn't... that means Salazar has Shadi under his control and he must have the other Egyptian God cards..."  
  
Yugi couldn't go to sleep after that, he stayed awake and was in deep thought over this.  
  
~Meanwhile... At Kaiba Corp, it was 2:30 AM~  
  
Seto Kaiba was busy on his computer typing up a business report but then he received an e-mail.  
  
"What? Oh, it's him," Kaiba answered it with great interest and he began to read it.  
  
Dear Mr. Kaiba,  
  
I am glad to see you kept your end of the bargain and because of that, the possession you've so desired will now be yours once more. But along with the deal, you must enter the tournament as well.  
  
Sincerely,  
  
Vincent Salazar  
  
President of Salazar Enterprises  
  
Kaiba was really suspicious about this whole ordeal but in only an hour later, in his mail was delivered an envelope, in it was the Egyptian God Card, The God of Obelisk. Kaiba wanted to know who he was dealing. Then, his little brother Mokuba popped him a question that same day. "Seto, I know you haven't been in the best mood lately but could you just tell me why you didn't enter the world tournament?"  
  
Seto deeply sighed and faced his little brother sitting in his chair, "Mokuba, I am not proud of what I did, but Salazar had the Egyptian God Card, The God of Obelisk... and he entered my office with ease somehow, passed all the security, he made me an offer I couldn't refuse. He held out Obelisk, from his briefcase and told me he'd give it to me on one condition: I'd have to pull out of the world tournament... at first I refused but then he did something that swayed my decision, he pulled out a lighter and held the flame really close to Obelisk, less than an inch away, almost burning a corner. I was so weak. I instantly folded, he put the lighter away and placed the card back in the briefcase and told me I'd get the card a few days after the tournament. Those were the hardest days ever in Kaiba Corp history and for me. News reports were talking all about me and amateur duelists laughing at me but even worse, the company had lost billions of dollars in advertising and endorsements in only three days. I'm still losing money today, but there's still enough to get by so don't worry. But still, Salazar used me and I fell for it. I will have my revenge on him and send him and his company into the dust! The only problem with his plans was that he just threw himself into the lion's den by giving me back Obelisk that is the worst move he could make."  
  
"You can do it Seto, you're my brother and there hasn't been obstacle in your way you haven't taken care of, remember Noa and the Big 5?" said Mokuba trying to cheer his brother up.  
  
"Yeah, you're right," said Seto as he stood up. "I can't allow myself to wallow in pity, when Yugi defeated me, I worked hard and beat him back, Salazar may have won this round but he picked the wrong guy to mess with."  
  
"That's the spirit Seto!" Mokuba told him.  
  
Then, Seto pulled out a key and unlocked a drawer in his desk bringing out his deck and from the other side of his desk he opened up another drawer holding his Egyptian God Card and placed it into the center of his desk and walked out of the room. "Excuse me little brother but I need to practice."  
  
~Duelist Kingdom, Midnight, 1 week before the Tournament~  
  
Salazar was busy conversing with several shadowy men when they arrived by helicopter to the island.  
  
"Welcome gentlemen, I've brought you all from around the world since you are the greatest duelists each of different skill and you six shall become my elite duelist eliminators. I will pay each and every one of you handsomely to weed out the weaker duelists and to give the stronger ones quite a challenge. However, if you are to come across Yugi Muto, you are obligated to duel him at any cost."  
  
"Grrrrrrrrrr," one of the men said. "I'll crush that insolent little worm for what he did to me."  
  
"Not before I eradicate him," said one of the shorter men. "His victory against me was a damn fluke!"  
  
"I am pleased to see there are no objections," Salazar said with a smile. "Very well then you all shall reside here until the big day then you all shall duel like there is no tomorrow!"  
  
After that, Salazar and his hired men let out an evil laughter throughout the island... 


	4. Making Preparations

~Three days before the tournament on a Wednesday morning, Joey stormed into the game store and showed Yugi a letter~  
  
"YUGE! You'll never guess what!!!" Joey shouted excitedly. "I got an invitation to the tourney!"  
  
"Good job Joey," Yugi said but now he felt unsure since his best friend was now in danger what with Salazar's menacing threats.  
  
"Uhh, Yuge?" Joey said. "Somethin' wrong?"  
  
"I'll tell you later when we're on the boat," Yugi told him.  
  
"Okay, but now that I got invited on such short notice, I only have three days to prepare my deck," Joey told Yugi. "Which is why I brought my money with me however, it isn't fifteen bucks to buy that nice Luster Dragon but I can buy four boosters I'll buy a different series of each, I gotta get somethin' good from one."  
  
"Okay then," appeared Grandpa behind the counter, giving Joey and Yugi a startle. "So Joey which series would you like?"  
  
"Uhh... that one, that one, that one and... that one," said Joey pointing to different series of cards.  
  
He handed his money over to Grandpa and he gave him the four different booster packs.  
  
Joey quickly ripped them open and looked for the rare cards in them.  
  
"Oh yeah! This is great!" Joey showed his new card, the rare magic card called 'Question.'  
  
"Whoa, that's a great card Joey," Yugi told him.  
  
"That ain't all, here are the other great cards I got," Joey showed him United We Stand, Sixth Sense and Blast with Chain.  
  
"Wow Joey, with those cards, you're gonna give those duelists a run for their cards." Yugi said. "I'm going to need to get some booster packs to compete with that."  
  
"Heh thanks Yuge," Joey said and took his other new cards and walked out the door. "Sorry gotta run, need to put my deck together, I'll see you later Yugi."  
  
"Bye, Joey!" Yugi waved and with that, Yugi bought some booster packs and began to rebuild his deck.  
  
On the day before the tournament everyone was still in preparation for the big tournament tomorrow.  
  
~Yugi's house, 12:00 AM~  
  
Yugi was in his bedroom putting the finishing touches on his deck and off to the side, he had yet to put his Egyptian god card in.  
  
"...and then I think I'll replace Horn Imp for... Neo the Magic Swordsman and Gaia the Fierce Knight for its effect counterpart, Swift Gaia, another Thousand Knives wouldn't hurt either, to add to my deck I'll put in Saint Dragon God of Osiris."  
  
Yugi looked at his god card and slipped it in the middle of his deck and shuffled it when he drew his first five cards, one of them was Osiris, he shuffled again and there it was again. It was as if the card wanted to be played...  
  
~Joey's apartment, 12:15 AM~  
  
"Heh heh," laughed Joey as he was practicing looking at his hand and playing cards. "I'll first play Panther Warrior then I'll play Scapegoat and skyrocket his power with United We Stand! Take that Kaiba, 6000 attack just to pay for one lost scapegoat! What's that, gonna use Raigeki? Well I'll give up Breaker the Magical Warrior's magic counter to stop your little thunderstorm! HA-HA-HA!"  
  
Joey continued practicing different combos with his old and new cards until he put himself to sleep, three minutes later.  
  
~ Kaiba Corp, 1:30 AM, Kaiba was in a metallic room and he had his duel disc system on and was facing a dueling robot that looked a lot like Salazar and the duel began and Kaiba had placed his old deck with the Salazar robot, even with the three Blue-Eyes White Dragons in it~  
  
The Salazar robot first placed one card facedown in defense mode ending its turn and played two magic or trap cards facedown.  
  
Kaiba played Foolish Burial and placed Lord of D. from his deck and into his graveyard, the shuffled his deck. Then he played Monster Reborn reviving his Lord of D. then played the flute of Summoning Dragon special summoning two Twin-Headed Behemoths then sacrificing them all to bring out The God of Obelisk and the two Twin-Headed Behemoths were brought back to the field in a weaker state, ending his turn.  
  
The Salazar robot flipped his face down card The Flute of Summoning Dragon, since the card could still work for the opposing player and special summoned Two Blue-Eyes White Dragons, but placed them in defense mode since they couldn't attack because they were special summoned.  
  
Kaiba sacrificed both the behemoths to use Obelisk's destructive ability and destroyed the facedown card and the Salazar robot had exploded from the force and blew its head clear off its shoulders which made Kaiba laughed.  
  
"I'm ready!" he shouted triumphantly as he walked up and stomped on the robot head crushing it. After his victory he turned in knowing that the other two god cards would be there at the tournament and it would only be a matter of time until he owned them.  
  
~Duelist Kingdom, 5:00 AM~  
  
"Hmm," Salazar said to himself while contemplating. "I gave Yugi Osiris and Obelisk to Seto Kaiba, but who to give The Winged Dragon of Ra?"  
  
He pressed a button on his desk which turned on a numerous amount of TVs, showing were many different people, two of which were Michael Laskow and Ryan Stone, the top two duelists in the world.  
  
"Those two... but I wonder," said Salazar. "Will they be willing to duel? Or maybe I could one them to use it. Well that'd be the fun part, them figuring it all out. Yes, I know who to give it to now."  
  
Salazar pressed a button and two suits came in wearing dark glasses came in. "Get these letters delivered to the addresses on this piece of paper," he handed one of them the paper and gave the other suit the letters. "Make sure you give it to that person and by the way, you have 24 hours to get it to him."  
  
The two suits didn't waste any time, they ran out of the room and quickly sealed the card safely and traveled by helicopter and car and it was delivered to the puzzled duelist and the two men left as strangely as they came.  
  
"I might as well hold on to this card," he said to himself, looking at Ra. "But I might need to use my translator on how to use it."  
  
The day of the tournament came and Yugi awoke at 5:00 AM and got dressed in his normal attire, grabbed his deck and placed the Millennium Puzzle around his neck and walked out the door and he was greeted by Joey who was dressed in a white T-Shirt, blue jeans and a green jacket, exactly like the clothes when he entered Duelist Kingdom. They both walked down the street and took a subway train towards Tokyo Docks where the ships were docked at which took several hours to get to and since they were early, they spent some time looking at the sites but at 7:00 PM they set for the docks and were there in a half hour. Then they were at the docks seeing a huge crowd of duelists.  
  
"Well, Yugi," Joey told his best friend as they saw the five large ships at the docks. "You ready?"  
  
"Yeah..." Yugi told him but his mind was elsewhere.  
  
"Hey Yuge, what's wrong?" Joey asked him. "You've been acting really weird lately, what's up?"  
  
"Well, you see..." Yugi explained to him about Salazar, Shadi, and about how Salazar got a hold of the Egyptian God Cards.  
  
"What? He's got that damn Millennium Rod!?" shouted Joey just to get his mouth covered by Yugi.  
  
"Joey, quiet," Yugi told him. "We don't know who could be listening to us."  
  
"Okay, but I'll be damned if he takes control of me, I'm nobody's slave." Joey said quietly.  
  
"Alright, then just watch out for anything suspicious Joey," Yugi said.  
  
And with that, the two of them walked down to the docks on the cold misty morning... 


	5. Events on the Boat

"Hey Yugi! Joey!" shouted Tea near the ships.  
  
"Tea?" Yugi and Joey said in unison.  
  
They ran towards Tea to find Tristan, Yugi's Grandpa, and Joey's sister Serenity there.  
  
"Whoa what are you guys doin' here?" Joey asked them.  
  
"Come on," Tristan said as he walked up to Joey and rested his arm around his shoulder. "You really think we'd let you two go off with out a great send-off? And don't worry, your sister's safe with me!"  
  
Joey's eyes turned white and he grabbed Tristan in a headlock, "I don't think so, BUD!!!"  
  
"Joey, stop playing around," Serenity said cheerfully. "I have something for you."  
  
She handed Joey a card, Emerald Dragon (2400/1400).  
  
"Whoa Sis, you didn't have to do this." Joey said as he released Tristan of his grip and looked at the card in wonder.  
  
"Just think of it as an early birthday present," she told him.  
  
Joey took the card and hugged his sister. "Thanks, Serenity you're the greatest sister ever."  
  
When Joey stopped hugging his sister he pulled out his deck from his pocket and placed Emerald Dragon in his deck.  
  
"I also have something for the both of you two," said Grandpa and he pulled out two cases. "Seeing as how you boys will be dueling and I'm certain you'll be bringing home plenty of new cards so here's something to keep them in." Grandpa then handed them both plastic cases big enough to hold their decks.  
  
"Thanks Grandpa," Yugi said to him and gave his grandpa a big hug and put his deck in the case, as did Joey.  
  
Yugi and Joey waved good-bye to their friends and family and got lost in the large crowd of duelists.  
  
The two of them looked around and they didn't know anybody, probably because there were duelists from all over the world being invited. They looked at the large ships and wondered which one they were supposed to be on.  
  
"Joey! Yugi!" someone in the crowd shouted.  
  
They looked around to find who said that and they still saw no one they knew.  
  
"Over here!" the person shouted again but they still couldn't see the person. "Ugh, I'll come over there, then."  
  
"Oh, hey Mai!" Yugi looked over to her.  
  
"I know, this place is a circus full of the fashionably-challenged," Mai told them.  
  
"Yeah, well is there anyone we know that is here?" asked Joey.  
  
"Over there," Yugi pointed out to the left. "There's Rex Raptor and Mako Tsunami."  
  
"Yeah and there's Espa Roba," Joey pointed near Mako and Rex where Espa was saying goodbye to all of his little brothers. "And on the plus side, I don't see Weevil, that's good news for everyone."  
  
"And there's Ryan Stone and Michael Laskow, the world champion." Mai pointed to where a huge crowd was gathering around. "And there are their rabid fans."  
  
Just then, a loudspeaker rang throughout the docks, "Attention, duelists. Attention, please! Please gather near the ships, they are placed in alphabetical order, last names first."  
  
Near the entrance of the ships were small tables seating four people for each ship and above the tables were banners that read "A-E," "F-J," "K-O," "P-T," and "U-Z."  
  
"Okay, I guess I'll see you later Joey," Yugi told him as he walked towards the center ship, as did Mai.  
  
"Alright," Joey said as he walked towards the ship on the far side.  
  
Yugi and Mai got in a line which seemed like they would be waiting forever but Mai had an idea. She pulled Yugi out of the line and walked up to the front of the line and said to one of the duelists. "Do you mind if we cut you?"  
  
"What? No way!" said the duelist. "Get back at the end."  
  
"Oh..." said Mai and she winked at him. "Please? I promise I'll give you something when on the ship."  
  
"I told you no, don't think that a pretty face will sway me but you're going to the back of the li-" the duelist realized that Mai, Yugi and plenty of other duelists cut him while he was giving his speech.  
  
"Name?" one of the people at the table asked Yugi. "Oh, Yugi Muto," he told him.  
  
The man looked at a clipboard and said, "Okay, your name is on the list," the man pulled from underneath the desk several dueling gloves, one red, one blue, one green, one purple, one black and they all had the metallic gray base with star. "Please choose one colored glove." Yugi chose the black one and slipped it on his right hand and the personnel handed him two gold stars. "Here are your two star chips; you may now enter the boat."  
  
Yugi placed the two star chips in and walked away from the table and looked up at the wooden staircase but waited for Mai to come. After waiting a moment Mai came up to Yugi, now wearing a purple dueling glove, the same color as her jacket and skirt.  
  
"Well kid, let's go now," Mai said as she walked up the ship, Yugi quickly followed her and they looked around the deck to see duelists chatting and trading cards already.  
  
"Excuse me Yugi, but I know there are some suites around here and I've got to sway a chump's decision to let me have it." Mai then walked to the inside of the ship and was gone.  
  
Yugi looked around and walked inside too, looking around and he overheard what some duelists were saying.  
  
"Did you hear? Some guy's already got seven star chips," one of the duelists said to the other. "He's downstairs in one of the bottom floors, one duelist already lost all of his star chips already."  
  
Yugi decided to check this out and he went downstairs and saw a small crowd gathering and two duelists were sitting on the ground. Yugi ran over to the crowd and saw that the duelists were playing some sort of game.  
  
"Pick the monster card, it's really not hard," said one of the duelists in an English accent. "How many star chips will you wager? Or will you wager a rare card?"  
  
"I'll wager just one of my star chips," he said as he picked out one his star chips and placed it in between them but it was closer to him.  
  
"Alright," the English duelist picked out three star chips and placed them with the other star chip making a pile of four. "Now we play."  
  
The English duelist showed three cards, one monster card, one magic card and one trap card. "Now follow the monster card," he turned them all face down and moved them with his finger really fast, switching places with them again and again, "tell me when you want to stop."  
  
After a few more seconds the other duelist got nervous and finally said, "STOP!" The English duelist finally stopped and told him, "Now choose, my good man."  
  
The other duelist didn't know which one to pick but after so much pressure, he chose the one in the middle. The British duelist flipped it over and it was the magic card. "Oh, hard luck there," he then grabbed the pile of star chips and placed them in his duel glove. "That would make eight."  
  
The duelist got mad and stormed out of the room and the English duelist asked the other duelists. "Come now, anyone else want to try their luck?"  
  
The other duelists shook their heads and decided to leave but Yugi wouldn't accept what was going on and his puzzle quickly reacted and he changed into his counterpart.  
  
"I shall play your game and I'm wagering my entire deck and all two of my star chips for all of your star chips but on one condition, you have to use my cards to shuffle with." Yugi said firmly placing his deck and his two star chips in a pile.  
  
"Alright but eight star chips for a deck and two star chips is hardly what I call an even trade, how about that pyramid knick-knack around your neck and we'll call it a deal?"  
  
"Very well," Yami Yugi took off the puzzle and changed back into regular Yugi.  
  
"Wait! Spirit! How will do this?" Yugi asked him through thought.  
  
"Really Yugi," the spirit said. "Have you already forgotten the Heart of the Cards? I believe in you Yugi, you can make the right choice."  
  
"Also part of the deal, you agreed to use my cards as the cards to shuffle with." Yugi told the English duelist.  
  
"Right, right, I know," said the English duelist as he first placed his star chips in the pile of Yugi's and his deck and puzzle, then he looked through Yugi's deck and picked out a monster card, a magic card, and a trap card, Dark Magician, Monster Reborn, and Mirror Force. "Alright then, find the Dark Magician." He turned them face down and with his right index and middle finger he switched the left with the middle, the middle with the right, the middle with the right again and again and again and again then switched the middle with left and the right with the middle, then Yugi could no longer keep track with the cards and he finally stopped after ten more seconds.  
  
"Okay now pick," he told Yugi.  
  
Yugi stared at the cards, the duelist had moved too fast to know exactly where, but he looked over at the pile and saw the Millennium Puzzle and remembered: trust in the Heart of the Cards. Yugi closed his eyes and placed his hands on the card to his left. He opened his eyes and flipped it over... it was Mirror Force. Yugi gasped.  
  
"Well that's hard to swallow now isn't it? Lost all your cards, your star chips and your little pyramid necklace, all before the bloomin' ship even set sailed. Looks like you might as well get off right here and save yourself the embarrassment there, right?" The English duelist told him.  
  
But Yugi couldn't believe that, as the English duelist was taking his spoils, he flipped the other two facedown cards and saw a Monster Reborn and another Mirror Force.  
  
"You Thief! You cheated! I bet you cheated in all your games, so no one could ever win!" Yugi shouted at him and stood up, grabbing his wrist to see his Dark Magician fall out of his Jacket sleeve.  
  
"Yeah? So what if I did cheat," he said standing up completely. "What's a short little nit like you going to do about it? Huh?" He grabbed Yugi by his jacket lapels and threw him to the ground. Yugi saw his puzzle right beside him and put it on and quickly the Spirit took over.  
  
"You like to cheat, steal and lie, do you?" Yami Yugi asked him. "Well that is unacceptable, we shall play a different game and if you lose, I decide your fate." Yami Yugi pulled out a coin from his pocket with two sides marked on it, the same one he used against the Paradox Brothers. "It's a simple game, maybe you've heard of it, I flip a coin, and you call it in the air 'Heads' or 'Tails' call it right you win, call it wrong, you lose." (Para is Heads and Dox is Tails)  
  
"Alright I'll play your game, but afterwards I'll kick your arse after this and throw you off the boat."  
  
Yugi and he flipped the coin high into the air and the English duelist called "Tails" and Yugi caught the coin as it fell into his hand and unfurled his hand to reveal the Para symbol, heads.  
  
"So you won the friggen coin toss, I'm still throwing you off the boat," the English duelist said to him as he pulled back his arm and threw a punch at Yugi.  
  
"I don't think so, MIND CRUSH!" Yugi held out his hand and the Millennium symbol appeared on his forehead and suddenly, the English duelist's punch stopped and the force of the momentum carried him to ground unconscious.  
  
Yugi then took his original star chips and placed them back in his dueling glove. Then he took his deck and took out the extra Mirror Force and ripped it up, and placed his Dark Magician back in it. Afterwards, he returned the six cheated star chips back to everyone that did get ripped off by Yugi and anyone who lost a rare card from him also got it back. Then Yugi took the English duelist's star chips and tossed them into the sea and took his unconscious body off the boat and onto the docks then quickly got back on right when the boat's were casting off.  
  
The spirit went back into the puzzle and Yugi walked to the bow of the ship to look at the rising moon.  
  
"I saw what you did," said someone from behind Yugi. "You took out James Masters, one of England's top duelists."  
  
Yugi looked behind him and saw a fairly tall man compared to himself, about 5'10" and he was wearing a black shirt and a red jacket that was really long in the back and was also wearing blue trousers, he had brown hair fairly similar to Joey's but his hair was shorter in the front.  
  
"Hey you're Michael Laskow," Yugi pointed out.  
  
"Yeah," he said with as he took a step closer. "And you're Yugi Muto, the Battle City champion and the King of Games. You're quite the duelist, one of the best in the world."  
  
"Yeah, well..."  
  
"I should warn you, watch out for Ryan Stone, he's been a real sore loser since my victory, he's not pulling any punches now he threatened me right before I got on the boat and he said something like 'Just you wait till we're on the island then you'll know what the meaning of payback really is' or something like that. I also saw him beating up on a younger duelist before I got to the docks; he's been a wreck since the world championship."  
  
"Thanks for telling me," Yugi said. "I'll be sure to keep an eye out for him."  
  
After that, Yugi and Michael conversed about numerous things, how they got to be such excellent duelists, and even about their personal lives, by the time they realized it, it was 1:00 AM.  
  
"Man we've been talking here for hours," Yugi laughed.  
  
"Heh heh," chuckled Michael. "Well I guess I've made my first friend in this tournament."  
  
Yugi nodded, "I guess we should turn in the boats will be at Duelist Kingdom in about 6 hours or so."  
  
"Yeah I was given a suite being the world champion, if you don't got a room you could crash on the extra bed in there," Michael offered.  
  
"Sure, it's better than the cots," Yugi said.  
  
And the two of them walked inside and went down one floor and walked to one room and Michael had a key and unlocked it and it was a really luxurious room with the finest wood-based walls and Yugi's feet felt like they just sank into the carpet.  
  
"Well I'm getting really tired, tomorrow's gonna be the biggest day ever for us all," Michael said as he opened the double doors to his room.  
  
Yugi sighed and walked to the opposing room of Michael's and opened the double doors to see a room as fine as Michael's, he never expected to ever get this kind of treatment. Yugi took out his deck and set it on the nightstand and took off his shoes and socks and jacket and got into the extremely comfortable bed and quickly fell asleep.  
  
When he awoke it was still dark out, and he got out of bed only to realize the Spirit was leaning against a wall.  
  
"Good, you're awake," said the Spirit of the Puzzle. "I brought you here because I think you should start using the Millennium Tauk, to try to see into the future, we may find out what we're up against with it. Yugi looked off to his nightstand to find that his deck-carrier had fallen over, he placed it back where it was and pulled out from his pants pocket the Millennium Tauk. Yugi then placed it around his neck and focused, to see the future.  
  
After several more minutes of focusing he finally got something. He saw himself dueling against some person, all he could see was their silhouette but that wasn't enough to tell and they had three monsters out on the field and then he saw himself (in Yami form) with three monsters out on the field, Joey was cheering Yugi on as a cold wind blew past them and Yami Yugi had sacrificed his monsters to bring out Saint Dragon, God of Osiris but then as Osiris began to appear, it began to go on the fritz, something was wrong as and Yugi lost focus of the vision and came back to reality, took off the Millennium Tauk and collapsed to the floor.  
  
"Yugi!" the Spirit shouted as he ran towards him. "Are you okay?"  
  
"I... saw you dueling someone, they had Ra out and you were about to summon Osiris, but something was wrong, but before I could see more, I couldn't see it anymore," Yugi said and he passed out.  
  
When Yugi awoke there was a knock at the door, Yugi opened it to find Michael.  
  
"Hey we're here, it'll be a few minutes till we'll be on ashore," Michael said as he ran out of his room to go look at the deck.  
  
Yugi gathered his stuff and placed the Puzzle around his neck again and ran out of the room and up on the deck to see the rising sun right above the castle of Duelist Kingdom.  
  
"Salazar's waiting for us," Yugi said to the Spirit. "And we'll be ready for him!" 


	6. Yugi VS The Thief

Yugi looked at Duelist Kingdom from the ship and remembered all the duels he had there, from Weevil Underwood, Mako Tsunami, the fake ghost of Kaiba, Panik the Eliminator, the Paradox Brothers, Seto Kaiba himself, Mai, Joey and Pegasus and none of the duels were easily won.  
  
"Something wrong, Yugi?" Michael asked him.  
  
"Oh no," Yugi answered him. "Just remembering some past memories here."  
  
Michael sighed and added, "I'm sure you'll have even more great duels."  
  
Yugi nodded and with that, Mai came out of the inside of the ship, yawning.  
  
"Oh hey Mai," Yugi greeted. "Sleep well?"  
  
"Sure did, some big shot from Germany thought he could get in my mouth if he'd win our duel but he was no threat and long story short: he slept in a hallway," Mai told Yugi then noticed who was right by him, "Yugi? Do you know you're right by Michael Laskow?"  
  
"Yeah, he's a great guy, he let me sleep in his extra room," Yugi explained.  
  
"Well if Yugi says you're okay, you can't be so bad," Mai told Michael.  
  
"Uh, thanks," he said.  
  
The ships began to dock into the harbor, it was greatly rebuilt from last time Yugi saw it, the docks were made entirely of cement and was fit to dock ten ships as big as the one they're on. As the first ship parked in place, several wooden bridges were placed across the port side of the ship and the duelists were getting off as quick as they could. When Yugi's ship got into place, several sides of the ship slid open and wooden bridges were placed across them. Eventually Yugi, Mai, and Michael got off the ship and were looking around to find Joey.  
  
"Hey Yuge!" shouted a familiar voice to Yugi and came running towards the three of them. "Wait is that Michael Laskow?"  
  
"Hey Joey," Yugi said and pointed towards Michael. "This is Michael. Joey, Michael. Michael, Joey."  
  
Joey and Michael shook hands and then Mai brought up, "Uh guys? Where exactly do we go from here?"  
  
A man in a suit wearing dark glasses at the end of the docks answered Mai and many others' questions said on a loudspeaker, "Attention duelists! Before the duels shall begin, you must know the rules. If you remember, you were given a dueling glove and two star chips, those are what keep you on this island, if you have no star chips you will be taking the next boat off the island. To get more star chips you must duel other duelists and ante up an equal amount of star chips from both sides, also you have to ante at least one rare card of the winning duelist's choice. When you have filled all fifteen empty slots with star chips, you qualify for the Duelist Kingdom finals and the winner of that takes on Vincent Salazar and whoever defeats him gains the choice of whatever they desire that's in Mr. Salazar's power. Now proceed to the castle for some words of wisdom from Vincent Salazar himself."  
  
The huge crowd of duelists went over to the castle and looking up high from the center balcony emerged Vincent Salazar and said, "Welcome Duelists. I am Vincent Salazar and I look forward to see the strong and weak are weeded out because by tomorrow, the hundreds of you invited shall whittle to a small amount and shall duel in ways you never imagined. The duels are a little a different from the ones you're used to seeing, you shall find out when you duel, I big you all Good Luck and Duel to your heart's content!"  
  
With that, Salazar walked away and entered the castle and addressed seven different men, "Eliminators, night shall fall and you'll all emerge then too weed out all the weaklings."  
  
They all nodded got ready to duel however, one of the duelists snuck out of the castle and Salazar went into an enormous room and was served a glass of wine and pressed a button a movie screen and he began watching TV, luxuriously.  
  
The duelists had scattered from the castle to start dueling. Yugi, Joey, Mai and Michael went towards the forest to look for someone to duel but they didn't see anyone dueling yet.  
  
"Well excuse me boys, but I like to do my dueling alone, nothing personal," with that, Mai walked off into the forest and was gone.  
  
"Seems like Mai still has trouble showing she's got friends," Joey said.  
  
"Well sorry to change the subject but are we going to duel ourselves or something?" asked Michael.  
  
"We'll run into someone," Yugi said. "Don't worry."  
  
Just then, Yugi DID run into someone, literally. A Duelist was running and ran right into Yugi knocking them both to ground.  
  
"Ow..." Yugi groaned as he was helped up by Yugi.  
  
"Oh, I'm terribly sorry, sir." The duelist said, with his English accent. "I'll be out of your way then."  
  
The Duelist ran like a deer away from the three of them and Yugi said, "He's sure in a hurry now."  
  
"Yeah wonder what's up with him," Joey said but then saw something on the ground and made a huge smile. "Hey! A free star chip!"  
  
Joey bent down and picked it up, and Yugi suddenly looked at his dueling glove to find it empty.  
  
"Joey that's mine," Yugi said and Joey sadly handed it back to Yugi but then. "Wait a minute I had another," Yugi gasped. "That kid! He's stole one of my star chips!"  
  
The three of them ran after the duelist and they left the clearing to be in a thicket of trees.  
  
"Damn that kid sure is fast," commented Michael as he narrowly missed tripping over a stump.  
  
After a few minutes of running through the trees and they looked up and saw small mountain summit where that kid was waiting at.  
  
They climbed up the small mountain and reached the summit and the Spirit of the puzzle awoken and shouted, "Give back my star chip now!"  
  
"Sorry I believe it's mine now," said the duelist as he placed it in his dueling glove and he had five altogether.  
  
"You've stolen all those star chips, haven't you?" said Yami Yugi.  
  
"So what if I have?" he asked. "No one was really fast enough to catch me but I hoped you did, I have a score to settle with you, Muto!"  
  
"What did I do?" Yami Yugi asked.  
  
"You threw my older brother off the boat before he had a chance to duel," said the duelist.  
  
"Your brother? Ah yes, James Masters was it? He was stealing other duelist's star chips, he got what he deserved," Yami Yugi said. "And you seem to be no different from your brother."  
  
"Shut up!" he shouted. "We're going to duel now and I'm knocking you out of the tournament!"  
  
The rocky ground slid open and a huge arena with a number 23 painted on the sides opened up one side was painted red, the other was blue. The English duelist pulled out his duel disk and placed it on his left arm. Then got onto the red side and stood on a platform which rose up but what was different from these arenas from the old ones were that on the platform there was nothing to keep you from falling off and as Yugi got out his duel disk went to the blue side but was stopped by Michael.  
  
"Hold it," Michael said as he took out his two star chips. "Use my star chips, you can still keep the spoils just give back mine."  
  
"Mine too," Joey said as he took out his two. "With our chips altogether, we can knock this crook outta the tournament."  
  
"I thank both of you," Yami Yugi said as he took out his one star and stood on the platform which arose when Yugi stepped on it.  
  
"We'll wager five star chips each then," said the English duelist. "But I won't lose."  
  
"Let's Duel!" Both the duelists said and the life points went up on their dueling panels and the two duelists placed the pure white card they were given with their invitations and placed it on the bottom of their deck and the new battle system was in play and on the corners of the arena for everyone to see that the life point count stopped at 8000.  
  
English Duelist: 8000  
  
Yami Yugi: 8000  
  
"8000 life points, eh?" Joey said, "Well there's one of the new rules already."  
  
"I'll start," said the English duelist. I play 3 magic or trap cards face down and play White Magical Hat (1000/700) in attack mode." As he ended his turn three large cards appeared face down on the arena and a man in a blue suit wearing a white cape and white top hat appeared in front of the large cards.  
  
Yami Yugi's turn-  
  
"Okay then I draw and I play one magic or trap card face down and I bring out Neo the Magic Swordsman (1700/1000)." A large card appeared face down on the field and a blonde-haired man in armor wielding a sword in his right hand and the tips of his fingers were shimmering blue appeared but suddenly the ground he was standing on gave out and he fell into a dark abyss.  
  
"Oh, too bad," said the English duelist. "But this trap card known as Trap Hole destroys any monster normal summoned on the field with 1000 attack points or more is automatically destroyed leaving open your field for a direct assault."  
  
English Duelist's turn-  
  
"I flip my face down card which is Robbin' Goblin," behind White Magical Hat appeared a hideous green goblin with sack over his shoulder and knife in his right hand. "I also flip my other face down card, Gravekeeper's Servant," a small winged fiend appeared on the field and it was holding a sickle perfect for its size. "Plus I play Don Zaloog (1400/1500) in attack mode as well," a silver-haired man with eye patch wielding a dagger and a sword appeared next to White Magical Hat. "I also play one magic or trap card face down and send my two monsters to attack you directly." White Magical Hat jumped up high and Don Zaloog ran towards Yugi but before any of them could hit Yugi his face down card on the field flipped face up.  
  
"Go Mirror Force!" shouted Yugi and from the card shot blinding lights all around stopping the two human-like cards and shielding their eyes but to no avail but the English duelist countered with a card of his own.  
  
"A good thief always knows what he's up against and how to overcome it," the English Duelist said as he flipped his facedown card. "Seven Tools of the Bandit negates and destroys your Mirror Force at the mere cost of 1000 life points." The lights of Mirror Force faded and Don Zaloog and White Magical Hat stopped shielding their eyes and pursued Yugi, White Magical Hat threw a punch at Yugi and looked incredibly real and Don Zaloog threw his dagger at Yugi and pulled it out and slashed Yugi across the belly and both the cards went back to their side of the field.  
  
English Duelist: 7000  
  
Yami Yugi: 5600  
  
"Now here's the real kicker, Yugi," the English duelist told him. "Since I dealt damage to you from both of my cards, their effects work, first from White Magical Hat, I randomly discard once card from your hand and I choose the one on your right," Yugi discarded the card, Monster Reborn to the graveyard, "and from Don Zaloog I can either discard the top two cards from your deck to the graveyard or one randomly from your hand, I choose to discard one from your hand, and I choose the center one," Yugi discarded Curse of Dragon to the graveyard. "Plus, from Robbin' Goblin's effect, I get to discard one card randomly from your hand to the graveyard for each monster that deal damage to your life points, and that would give you no cards in your hand." The goblin ran up to Yugi and sliced at his two remaining cards, Gazelle, the King of Mythical Beasts and Mystical Elf  
  
"Damn!" Michael said. "That's a painful combo of cards, he's got Yugi in the palm of his hands right now."  
  
"Hey shut up!" Joey told him. "Yugi needs our support more than ever right now."  
  
"Okay but it might be hard for Yugi to recover from this," Michael said. "After all, James Masters and this guy must be his younger brother, Cain Masters, they were two of the top four duelists in England. I never dueled them but they were known to have won their duels probably like this."  
  
"Well Yugi's beaten world class strategies before and I know he can do it this time, too." Joey said.  
  
Yami Yugi's turn-  
  
Yugi drew his card and gave a smile, "I believe this duel will go on for longer than you think, I play one card face down in defense mode and end my turn." On Yugi's side of the field a piece of the floor was flashing indicating there was a monster there.  
  
Cain's turn-  
  
"Well I play one card in face down in defense mode and I play one magic or trap card face down," a large card appeared behind the two monsters and right next to Don Zaloog the floor was glowing indicating a monster was there.  
  
Yami Yugi's turn-  
  
"Well then I play one magic or trap cards face down and end my turn."  
  
Cain's turn-  
  
"What a useless turn!" remarked Cain as he drew his card. "I play Cliff the Trap Remover (1200/900) and flip my face down card, Gravity Bind." A ball of energy appeared in the center of the field and went into the floor and Don Zaloog seemed to be the only one effected by the card as he fell to one knee being weighed down. "Gravity Bind makes any monsters with levels 4 or higher unable to attack and I end my turn."  
  
Yami Yugi's turn-  
  
"I draw and I play Beta the Magnet Warrior (1700/1500) in attack mode," as Beta appeared on the field, it was brought to the ground with a slam due to Gravity Bind. "And I end my turn."  
  
Cain's turn-  
  
Cain drew his card and said, "I play one monster card face down in defense mode and I end my turn."  
  
"COME ON! SOMEONE ATTACK!" shouted Joey.  
  
"Patience loud one," Cain said to him.  
  
"LOUD ONE?!" shouted Joey as he went over to the arena to clobber him and tear him a new "A."  
  
"Calm down, Joey," Michael said pulling him back by the tail of his jacket.  
  
Yami Yugi's turn-  
  
"I play Gamma the Magnet Warrior (1500/1800) in attack mode and I end my turn," the winged magnet warrior appeared on the field by Beta and was also brought down to the ground.  
  
Cain's turn-  
  
"Well here's my Destructive Combo," said Cain as he drew his card. "I flip my face down card Needle worm," a large purple worm dressed with spikes on its face, sides, and tail appeared on the field and five spikes at Yugi. "And from its effect, you have to discard the top five cards from your deck to the graveyard. But that isn't all, I play Morphing Jar and we all have to discard our hands and draw five new cards and I also play Card Destruction making us discard our hands and draw five new cards and I end my turn sacrificing my Needle Worm to bring out Catapult Turtle (1000/2000) in attack mode and I end my turn."  
  
"Uh-oh," said Michael. "Next turn he's going to destroy Yugi's hand again and take a huge chunk out of his life points."  
  
"Hey what'd I just tell you?" Joey asked. "I said Yugi may be down right now, but he'll pull through!"  
  
Yami Yugi's turn-  
  
"Well the only thing that your monsters are safe by right now is nothing because I bring out Alpha the Magnet Warrior (1400/1700) and I sacrifice them all to bring out Valkyrion the Magna Warrior (3500/3850)!" But even worse for you is that I play Mystical Space Typhoon and destroy your Gravity Bind."  
  
"Oh yeah! I knew Yugi was gonna make a comeback!" Joey said to Michael.  
  
Cain's turn-  
  
Cain began to sweat profusely at the sight of the huge Valkyrion and there wasn't a card in his deck that could overpower it either. "I'll sacrifice my White Magical Hat, Cliff the Trap Remover, Morphing Jar and Don Zaloog to attack your life points directly." As each monster was mounted on the turtle's back, they were launched and shot right at Yugi four times, and Robbin' Goblin came back at Yugi and sliced at his cards leaving Yugi with no cards in his hand. "And I'll end my turn placing Catapult Turtle in defense mode."  
  
Cain: 7000  
  
Yami Yugi: 2200  
  
Yami Yugi's turn-  
  
Yugi didn't seem stunned by that last attack and he drew his card, "Now you're the one who'll feel the pain. I sacrifice my face down defense monster to bring out the Summoned Skull (2500/1200)," the frightening Summoned Skull replaced the flashing floor and it roared as it powered up with electricity and Cain's face was in terror. "Go Summoned Skull, attack his Catapult Turtle, Lightning Strike!" The Summoned Skull's claws channeled its electrical energy and fired the blast at the turtle destroying it entirely in a cloud of smoke. "But that isn't all, Valkyrion! Attack his life points directly! Magna Sword Slash!" Valkyrion's sword illuminated with Magnetic energy as it jumped up high and came crashing down, cutting Cain's life points in half. Cain: 3500  
  
Yami Yugi: 2200  
  
Cain's turn-  
  
Cain drew his card and sighed with relief, "I didn't think I'd have to use that card, I flip my facedown card, Solemn Wishes at the end of my turn I gain 500 life points. But when a good thief gets caught and is in a heap of trouble, they have a Scapegoat and I've got four." He played the card and four multi-colored sheep appeared on the field. "And I end my turn."  
  
"Looks like thief-boy's running scared now," Joey said.  
  
"Yeah," agreed Michael. "With those two powerhouses on Yugi's side, Cain's prolonging the inevitable."  
  
Cain: 4000  
  
Yami Yugi: 2200  
  
Yami Yugi's turn-  
  
"I draw and I play Celtic Guardian (1400/1200) in attack mode now I'll have my three monsters to wipe out all but one scapegoat on your side of the field. Now! Attack!" Celtic Guardian went first by charging and slicing one scapegoat in two, Summoned Skull gathered electrical energy and fired a blast of lightning turning a scapegoat into dust and Valkyrion jumped up and destroyed a Scapegoat with magnetic energy.  
  
Cain's turn-  
  
Cain sighed and played Hayabusa Knight (1000/700) in attack mode, "and I'll also play Secret Pass to the Treasures allowing him to attack your life points directly and with his effect, he can attack twice in the same turn." A small hole appeared below Hayabusa Knight and he jumped into it and popped out of a whole behind Yugi's monsters and jumped up and slashed Yugi twice and jumped into the hole again and popped up back on his side. "Then I'll end my turn playing one magic or trap card face down ending my turn." Cain had a sullen face knowing he was going to lose.  
  
Cain: 4500  
  
Yami Yugi: 200  
  
Yami Yugi's turn-  
  
"I draw...," Yugi looked at his card. "I first play one card face down and now my monsters! Attack!" As the monsters went to attack, a weird dimension absorbed their attacks. Cain had activated his face down card, Negate attack and sullen face was replaced with a smug smirk.  
  
"You should've known I'd play a card to stop you from attacking, but my little display got you! HA, HA,HA!" he laughed.  
  
"Actually, I did know you were going to play that, I've been tricked before in duels but not again I flip my face down card, Solemn Judgment, by paying half my life points I get to prevent Negate Attack from working, so now my monsters shall destroy your remaining life points." Celtic Guardian sliced the last scapegoat in two and Summoned Skull fried the Hayabusa Knight to look like a roasted chicken and Valkyrion finished off his remaining life points with a mighty magnetic sword slash.  
  
Cain: 0  
  
Yami Yugi: 200  
  
And as the duel ended, the monsters faded from the field and the platforms dropped back to the ground and Yugi changed back but Cain jumped off the platform before it could land and went off running again, however Michael and Joey were expecting that and were standing their waiting for him.  
  
Cain tried to run off to the side to get away from them but Michael tackled him to the ground and took out his five star chips and the duelist went off running again. Joey went to go chase after him but Michael placed his arm on his shoulder, signifying him don't.  
  
"But shouldn't we stop him?" asked Joey.  
  
"Why bother? There's data on the duels so even if he steals more star chips, they wouldn't count and security will find him and take him away," Michael said.  
  
"Okay, then." Joey said as the two of them walked back to Yugi and gave him the star chips, making a total of ten.  
  
"Well since you guys put up your star chips on the line to get back mine, here," Yugi said as he handed them three star chips each and placed in three of his own. "But what to do with the last one?"  
  
"You should keep it, Yugi." Michael told him. "Because you should've had two to begin with, so technically you should have four."  
  
Yugi then placed the fourth one in and the three friends walked away from the dueling field to find some other people to duel. 


	7. The First Eliminator

Yugi, Joey, and Michael walking through the forest to finally get out of it.  
  
"So Yugi," Joey said. "When didja get that Solemn Judgment? Don't remember you ever using that before."  
  
"Oh? That?" Yugi said. "It was one of the new rare cards I got in a booster pack, it's great to use at the end of a duel."  
  
"As we saw just now," added Michael.  
  
"What other cards you got in there?" Joey asked.  
  
"Oh, you'll see," Yugi told him.  
  
"Ah, that ain't fair," Joey said. "I showed you my rare cards."  
  
"Don't worry," Yugi said. "We'll have plenty of duels to see all of our cards in action.  
  
As they finally got through the forest they entered a large meadow where three arenas were up and three duels were taking place. But dozens of people had gathered around one of them, one person dueling was Espa Roba, the other duelist none of them could tell who it could be from the distance, as they joined the crowd, Michael pointed out.  
  
"It's Ryan Stone," he said with an angry tone in his voice.  
  
"Ryan Stone?" Joey asked. "The guy you dueled?"  
  
"Yeah," said Yugi. "But you should watch out for him, he's a loose cannon."  
  
Ryan was about as tall as Michael, about an inch shorter. He had naturally red spiky hair some of it went up and some went down he had hazel eyes and was wearing a dark blue, almost black t-shirt with blue jeans, and a faded green jacket.  
  
On the field, Espa had The Fiend Megacyber (2200/1200) in attack mode, and Reflect Bounder (1700/1000) in defense mode.  
  
Ryan had a Kaiser Glider (2400/2200), Giant Red Seasnake (1800/800), and Luster Dragon (1900/1600) out all in attack mode but all of them looked different and that was because Ryan had a DNA Surgery out and all the monsters looked robotic.  
  
Their life point count was at:  
  
Espa Roba: 2400  
  
Ryan Stone: 5800  
  
And it was Ryan's turn and he played his world famous finisher move. He played Limiter Removal doubling all his monsters' attack points and sent them to attack. The Giant Red Seasnake coiled around Reflect Bounder and devoured it. Luster Dragon exhaled a river of sapphire flames melting right through Megacyber's armor making a big hole through its chest and it collapsed to the ground dropping Espa's life points to 1100. And Kaiser Glider finished off the rest of his life points by flying at Mach speeds past Espa Roba trailing behind it a wave of flames covering him and the duel was over.  
  
As the platforms dropped, Espa Roba and Ryan Stone walked over each other and a grief-stricken Espa gave his only four star chips to Ryan who had five already and now had a total of nine and Espa Roba was eliminated from the tournament.  
  
As Espa walked back to the docks, Ryan walked the opposite way passed Yugi, Joey and Michael and muttered, "'Cosmic Forces' my ass."  
  
"What's that Stone?" Michael said. "Gotta pick on regional champions to win your star chips?"  
  
Ryan stopped, not noticing Michael until now, "Shut up Laskow. Mr. Pink-and- Green was riding my ass since I was on the boat, he wanted to fight saying I was afraid because the 'Cosmic Forces' were in his favor so I gave him what he wanted. But frankly, all my duels so far have been one-sided since everyone who's challenged me doesn't know what they're up against."  
  
"Yeah? Well ever since you lost, you've been a drama-queen and beatin' up on little kids, that's disgraceful!" Joey said to Ryan.  
  
"Get your stories straight, moron," Ryan told Joey. "Did Laskow tell you that? I wouldn't be surprised if he did. Laskow, you think I'm the one who's been acting strange you're one to talk. I don't want to duel you anymore, you're telling people I'm a disgrace, but in duels, you've showed no mercy to anyone even when they concede the duel, you're the real disgrace."  
  
Ryan then walked off into the forest and was gone.  
  
"I really don't like that guy," Joey said to the others. "I'd just like to..."  
  
"Hey did you hear? Some guy's got two big dueling gloves and he already has over 20 star chips! He's using insects and no one's been able to beat him." one duelist said to the other as they ran to a part of the forest.  
  
"Insects? No it couldn't be," Yugi said.  
  
"If Weevil Under-wear was on the ships he woulda been on mine," Joey said. "How'd he get here?"  
  
"Well let's go check it out," Michael said and the three of them followed after the two duelists.  
  
When they arrived to the dueling arena, there was a small crowd of duelists watching the current duel on one side was a La Jinn but it paled in comparison to what was .  
  
"Go my Perfectly Ultimate Great Moth! Wipe out his pathetic defenses! Poisonous Tornado!" said an incredibly shrill voice as the enormous insect flapped its wings and created a mighty wind creating a cloud of poisonous gas towards La Jinn and it was destroyed as well as the duelist's life points. As the platforms dropped, the kid went to give the one star chip he had wagered but the insect duelist pulled out some squirt gun shooting some goop into the kid's eyes, and while the duelist was blinded, he took off his dueling gauntlet and took the remaining two star chips from his glove and threw the glove back to the ground and got back on his platform away from danger.  
  
"It's Weevil!" Yugi and Joey said at the same time.  
  
It was indeed Weevil Underwood, he had his bright yellow glasses with a Hercules beetle in the center of the glasses and had a lime green jacket with a black silhouette of a beetle covering up most of the front.  
  
The duelist got the goop out of his eyes and tried to jump up to get back at Weevil but couldn't make it to the top and Weevil made taunting faces at him.  
  
"Since you have no star chips, you'll be going now," Weevil said to him as he pulled out a remote control with one red button on it and he pressed it and in seconds, two security guards appeared and took the star-chip-less duelist away.  
  
"NOOO!!" shouted the duelist while kicking, "I'll get you for this Underwood! You'd better sleep with the lights on!!!"  
  
"So now, who's brave enough to challenge Weevil Underwood?" he asked the crowd of duelists, but they all left, disturbed by what happened except for them.  
  
"Wheeler! Muto!" shouted Weevil. "I thought I'd find you two here! Oh how sweet it will be to knock you both out of the tournament! I'll duel Muto first, I need a challenge."  
  
"Oh no, you'll be dueling me," said Michael as he pulled out his duel disk and placed it on his left arm and rose up on the platform.  
  
"Back off, I said Muto," Weevil said.  
  
"Well too bad, you're dueling me instead," said Michael.  
  
'Oh no, boss isn't going to like this,' thought Weevil.  
  
"Fine then," Weevil said as he shuffled his deck, but his shuffling was really stacking his deck.  
  
"Let's Duel!" the two duelists said as their life points went up to 8000.  
  
"I'll start first," Weevil said as he drew his card. "I first start by playing the field card, Forest," and then the entire field they were playing sprouted trees bushes and grass. "And I'll play Girochin Kuwagata (1700/1000) and he gets a field power bonus of 500 making him a 2200/1500 and playing one magic or trap card face down in defense mode ending my turn."  
  
"There's another new rule," said Yugi. "Field power bonuses now give a +500 bonus."  
  
"Good but not good enough," said Michael drawing his first card. "I play Goblin Attack Force (2300/0)," as the dozens of goblins appeared on the field, static appeared and the hoard of little green goblins vanished from the field. "What the hell!?"  
  
"Hee hee hee," laughed Weevil. "Guess you don't know all the rules yet. Monsters with attack power of 2001 or more have to have at least one sacrifice to be brought out, that's sad, a world champion not knowing the rules."  
  
"Then I'll end my turn playing one magic or trap card face down," said Michael, grumbling.  
  
Weevil's turn-  
  
"After I beat you, I'll claim your title and be the new world champion and it begins with this," Weevil drew his card. "Just as I thought, I play Arsenal Bug (2000/2000) and from the forest, he his stats increase to 2500/2500 and I'll equip Girochin Kuwagata with Laser Cannon Armor making him a 2500/1800," the small insect got armor on its shoulders and a large laser cannon appeared on his back. "Now say good-bye to your life points! Attack my insects!" Arsenal Bug armed with its sword slashed across the belly of Michael and Girochin fired a laser blast at Michael but he flipped a face down card.  
  
"I activate Magical Cylinder," Michael said and a Cylinder took the laser blast and turned around redirecting the attack back Weevil and leaving him in a cloud of smoke.  
  
"Don't think I'm finished with you, yet Laskow," Weevil said. "I have more luscious insects to serve up!"  
  
Weevil: 5500 Michael: 5500  
  
Michael's turn-  
  
"I play Great Angus (1800/600) in attack mode," a big red battle-scarred beast with protruding tusks appeared and his stats were showing but they went up even further to 2300/1100. "Beast cards also get the power bonus of the forest, but that isn't all, I play Black Pendant increasing his attack to 2800. And now I'll attack Girochin, Great Angus, Crusher Fist!" The Black Pendant made Great Angus have an illumination of black around him and with his giant fist, he crushed the small Girochin. "Plus, I know the effect of Arsenal Bug, if he's the only face up insect on your side of the field his stats drop to 1000/1000, without the power bonus."  
  
Weevil: 5200  
  
Michael: 5500  
  
Weevil's turn-  
  
"I draw," Weevil said. "And I play this card face down in defense mode and switch my Arsenal Bug to defense mode and I'm afraid that's the best I can do."  
  
"I'd never believe Weevil for a second," Joey said. "You can't let anything get passed him I'd watch out for that face down card."  
  
Yugi nodded in agreement looking at the flashing floor of the facedown card.  
  
Michael's turn-  
  
"I'll play Giant Rat (1400/1450) and since he's a beast his stats increase to 1900/1950. And with my two monsters I'll attack your two monsters." Giant Rat jumped up and gave Arsenal Bug a lethal bite, destroying it and as Black Angus was about to hurl his fist into the face down card, the card flipped up and a pink leech coiled it self around Great Angus and began sucking his blood.  
  
"Ah sweet, nourishing blood," said Weevil as his life points went up to 6600. "Thanks to my leech, Kiseitai, whenever he gets attacked, he attaches to that monster and as each turn passes; I'll gain life points half as much as your Great Angus there."  
  
"Ugh," said Joey in disgust, "Weevil used that same card on my Jinzo when I dueled him, he's gotta sacrifice his card and fast."  
  
Weevil's turn-  
  
"I'll play one card face down in defense mode and another magic or trap card face down."  
  
Michael's turn-  
  
Michael drew his card and sighed with relief, "Time to test out this new summoning rule. I'll sacrifice my Great Angus along with that leech attached to it bring out Suijin (2500/2400). Plus from Black Pendant, you lose 500 life points." As the red beast faded and fired black blast at Weevil, the water god Suijin appeared.  
  
"Hey if he can bring out Suijin with one sacrifice, then that must also work with my Dark Magician," Yugi said. "That's good to know."  
  
"And I'll send my Giant Rat to attack your face down card," as the giant rat ran up and the card flipped face up and it was Parasite Paracide.  
  
"Hahaha!" laughed Weevil. "Now you're in for it, you activate my Parasite Paracide's ability. He is placed in your deck which I have to shuffle and when you draw the card, the fun really begins!"  
  
Michael placed his deck on a compartment on the platform and it was sent over to Weevil and he placed the card in his deck and shuffled it and returned it back to Michael.  
  
"But also, you left your life points wide open for my Suijin," Michael said. "Go Suijin Hydro Pressure!" Suijin unleashed a great amount of water hitting Weevil hard.  
  
Weevil: 3600  
  
Michael: 5500  
  
Weevil's turn-  
  
"Only a small price to pay for what's going to happen to you." Weevil said as he drew his card. "I play Petit Moth (300/200) in attack mode but it begins its state of evolution with the Cocoon of Evolution (0/2000) and its stats raise to 500/2500, enough to endure your Suijin and soon he will metamorphose into my Perfectly Ultimate Great Moth. And for the fun of it, I flip my other face down card, Insect Barrier and placing another magic or trap card, face down ending my turn.  
  
"That can't be good," Joey said.  
  
Michael's turn-  
  
Michael drew his card but regretted it, it was Parasite Paracide (500/300) and its other effect activated. Michael placed it in defense mode and he lost 1000 life points and the parasite's tentacles burrowed in the Giant Rat and Suijin rupturing all over the place, squiggling about.  
  
Joey, Yugi, and Michael were all disgusted at the sight.  
  
"Aw man I hated that card," Joey said. "I couldn't get rid of it."  
  
"But even worse is that Weevil cheated," Yugi said. "He made sure that the next card Michael would draw would be Parasite Paracide. I'm sure that isn't the first time he's done that either."  
  
Robert couldn't hear what they were saying over Weevil's gloating but he thought the same thing but all he had in his hand were useless magic and trap cards and low level monsters.  
  
"Then I play Giant Soldier of Stone (1300/2000) in defense mode," but not even stone was safe from the parasite as it burrowed into and stuck out in numerous places in the rock warrior.  
  
Weevil's turn-  
  
"Now another turn has passed and my little petit moth begins its metamorphosis and I'll play Pot of Greed drawing two cards and I'll play two magic or trap cards face down ending my turn.  
  
Michael's turn-  
  
Michael drew his card and smiled, "That cocoon will never hatch Underwood, I sacrifice my..."  
  
"Not so fast!" shouted Weevil as he flipped one of his face down cards. "I activate my trap card, Mask of Restrict," a creepy looking mask with fangs and horns appeared behind the cocoon. "That means you have to keep my Parasite on the field, too bad!"  
  
"Dammit," said Michael. "You're just being a thorn in my side Underwood, then I'll play The Dragon Dwelling in the Cave (1300/2000) ending my turn." And in seconds, the Parasite infected the dragon.  
  
Weevil's turn-  
  
"I draw and I play Pinch Hopper (1200/1000) in attack mode and he becomes a 1700/1500 from the forest," said Weevil. "Just four turns until my monster becomes perfect.  
  
Michael's turn-  
  
Michael drew his card but nothing helped him so he passed his turn.  
  
Weevil's turn-  
  
"Looks like the world champion's going to retire early," Weevil said smugly as he drew his card. "I play another magic or trap card face down."  
  
Michael's turn-  
  
Michael drew again but still, another strong monster that he needed a sacrifice for so he passed.  
  
Weevil's turn-  
  
Weevil drew his card and said, "Now here's something you're going to hate, I flip my two face down cards, Pyro Clock of Destiny and for each one, a whole turn passes, so two turns pass and next turn my Perfectly Ultimate Great Moth will emerge, I hope you're ready for me to be the World Champion!"  
  
Michael's turn-  
  
Michael drew his card making him have a total of seven and not one could be used and with Insect Barrier out, he couldn't attack so he did the next best thing, "I switch all my monsters in defense mode ending my turn.  
  
Weevil's turn-  
  
Weevil drew his card and laughed triumphantly now emerge my Perfectly Ultimate Great Moth, arise from your cocoon!" And it did, it was enormous, and Yugi never saw Weevil play this card before and it had power and defense to match its size of 3500/3000.  
  
"Because my Perfectly Ultimate Great Moth was special summoned, he has to wait a turn to attack but he still gets the power bonus of 4000/3500, making him unstoppable! But my Pinch Hopper's hardly a match but I know of an equal card, I first play Eradicating Aerosol destroying my Pinch Hopper but activating his special ability, I get to summon any insect from my deck onto the field! And I choose my Insect Queen (2200/2400)!" The Insect Queen appeared and let out a roar.  
  
"Yes roar my queen! Here comes the pain, Laskow. For every insect on the field, my queen gains 200 attack points and there are six insects on the field right now so she gains 1200 attack points making her a 3400/2400 and from the forest, she gains a field power bonus making her a 3900/2900! But instead of having two powerful monsters, I'll have one super strong monster. Insect Queen! Devour my Perfectly Ultimate Great Moth!" Insect Queen did and it was not a pleasant sight to behold. Yugi, Joey, and Michael looked away but when it was over, Insect Queen's attack power was 7100 since there were now 5 insects on the field.  
  
Michael's turn-  
  
Michael drew a card and said to himself, "Finally!" he slipped the magic card in an empty slot underneath where the monsters were played and said, "I play Giant Trunade returning Mask of Restrict, the Forest field card and Insect Barrier back to your hand. And I sacrifice Giant Rat to bring out Dark Dust Spirit! And from his effect, all monsters on the field including your powerful Insect Queen are destroyed!" It was so, Dark Dust Spirit appeared clenching his body then opened up unleashing a wave of darkness, rotting all the monsters on the field to dust leaving Weevil wide open for an attack. "Attack Dark Dust Spirit! Claws of the Dead!" The Spirit raised up his arms, slammed them the ground and an enormous claw rose from ground and grasping Weevil very tight then releasing him, and the Dark Dust Spirit vanished returning back to Michael's hand. "Plus from Giant Rat, I get to Special Summon an Earth elemental monster of 1500 or less attack, and I choose Giant Soldier of Stone in attack mode and place one magic or trap card face down in attack mode ending my turn."  
  
Weevil: 1400  
  
Michael: 5500  
  
Weevil's turn-  
  
Weevil drew his card but it didn't help him, because he stacked his deck, and at this time he'd expect to be ripping through Michael's monsters with his supped-up Insect Queen, so he thought he wouldn't need another monster to attack with, he dropped his cards on the platform on his knees, and shouted to Michael, "I beg of you! Please, spare me! If I lose the duel you don't know what could happen!"  
  
Michael looked darkly into Weevil and smirked.  
  
Michael's turn-  
  
Joey and Yugi looked at Weevil and he looked like an empty shell of himself, both of them looked at him and saw pure fear and Yugi told Michael, "He has seen enough, Michael, he can't duel anymore, spare him."  
  
Michael looked darkly over to Yugi and said, "No..."  
  
"I sacrifice my Giant Soldier of Stone to bring out my Dark Dust Spirit again," he said over to Weevil who was now on the verge of crying out of fear. "Dark Dust Spirit, crush him once more and do away with him." The zombie spirit raised up his arms again and the giant claw rose out of the ground and began to grasp Weevil but before the pressure could be applied, the claws faded from around Weevil and were gone as was the spirit, the duel was over and Michael looked over to Weevil and said, "Got ya!"  
  
Michael began laughing because he psyched Weevil out like that, making him almost cry as his platform dropped to the ground but Weevil's platform remained up there, still afraid. Then Weevil stood up all of a sudden grasping his head.  
  
"No, master it was an accident!" Weevil shouted but Yugi, Joey and Michael were confused and know who he was talking to. "Master, I was going to duel Muto, but that guy tricked me into dueling him," Weevil shouted.  
  
"Weevil's gone nuts," Joey said.  
  
"Please master, give me another chance!" Weevil hollered.  
  
Weevil then all of a sudden, stood up straight, and extended his arms out in a crucifix position and walked backwards right on the edge of the platform, "Please master, not this!"  
  
"What's he doing?" Michael said.  
  
Weevil's head turned towards Yugi and the millennium symbol appeared on his head, illuminating gold, "You may have defeated this eliminator, but he was weak there six others much stronger than this pathetic cheater," said a voice that sounded partially like Weevil's but there was another voice speaking in unison, which Yugi instantly recognized.  
  
"Salazar! Don't do it!" shouted Yugi.  
  
But it was too late, Weevil Underwood still with his arms extended out, had leaned back and fell off the platform for a fifteen foot drop...  
  
NOTE: I am not exactly sure if Insect Queen or Weevil's other insects have those precise effects, but they were on the TV show, and that's where I got the idea.  
  
And here are the new rules for Duelist Kingdom:  
  
1. 8000 Life points  
  
2. Monsters that require no sacrifices have to have 2000 or less  
attack/defense points.  
  
3. Monsters that require 1 sacrifice have 2001-2500 attack/defense  
points.  
Example: A Red-Eyes Black Dragon only needs one sacrifice to be  
summoned.  
  
4. Monsters with 2501 and above attack/defense points need 2 sacrifices.  
  
5. Normal Field cards like Sogen, Forest, Mountain and Umi now give  
+500/+500 instead of the normal 200. Other field cards such as Gaia  
Power, Luminous Spark, Molten Destruction, etc now give +750/-500. Other  
Field cards like Necrovalley that specifically target one type of card  
have their same effects. And each duelist can play at least one field  
card and if they play other, the other one is cancelled out and sent to  
the graveyard.  
  
I hope this solved a lot of confusion and please continue enjoying this fic. 


	8. Rage of the Dragons Part I

Yugi, Joey, and Michael ran over to Weevil's body, which had just fallen off the arena platform being controlled by Salazar.  
  
"Treating an unconscious victim? They didn't even try to teach us that in school," Yugi said.  
  
Michael checked his pulse but not before taking out three star chips from his enormous dueling gloves, "He's not dead but he's got several broken bones. As a duelist I'd leave him here, but even Weevil doesn't deserve to be left for dead."  
  
"Yeah," Joey said putting him over his shoulder. "Let's go to the docks and think of something then."  
  
"Actually, that weakling will be coming with us," said one of four men in suits who had appeared out of nowhere it seemed.  
  
"I don't think so, your boss just threw him off the platform," Yugi said to them.  
  
"Hand him over or we can't be responsible what happens to you next," said the same suit again and he was oddly familiar to Yugi and Joey, with his ridiculously long hair pointed up like an antenna in the front.  
  
The other suits began cracking their knuckles and had menacing smiles on their face and Michael stood up to them ready for a fight.  
  
"We're sorry it had to come to this," said Joey placing Weevil on the ground and stepped up beside Michael.  
  
"Okay, then, I hope you enjoyed the feeling in your legs," said the antenna haired suit.  
  
The suits charged at the two of them and Joey and Michael charged at them. A bald suit threw a punch at Joey but caught the punch and pulled him in and punched the suit deep in the gut in the gut of the bald suit and threw him over his shoulder and on the ground. A brown-haired suit upper-cutted Michael in the chin and it connected but as Michael went flying in the air, as his legs were level with the suit's head he grabbed him by the neck with his ankles and threw him over to the ground and then Michael got off his hands and got on his feet. A black-haired suit grabbed Joey by the head and head butted him right on the noggin, as Joey was dazed, the suit didn't seem harmed by the attack and threw one punch to Joey's gut, then to his face knocking him to the ground. Michael jumped up and drop-kicked the black haired suit right to the head knocking him the ground. The antenna- haired suit however, had ran over to Yugi, who was guarding Weevil, and grabbed Yugi by his hair and threw him to the ground, grabbed Weevil and put him over his shoulder.  
  
"Okay, we got him, let's go!" said the suit.  
  
The other three suits got up like they weren't hurt at all and ran over the antenna haired suit and they ran off. "Hey get back here!" shouted Michael as he ran after them.  
  
"Stop him, do whatever it takes," said the antenna-haired duelist to the bald one.  
  
The bald suit stopped running, turned around and faced Michael. The bald suit threw a punch at Michael but he stepped out of the way and did a turning kick to the bald suit's head, but the bald suit parried the kick with his left arm then applied force on his leg, causing Michael to do a corkscrew-styled fall to the ground. Then the bald suit kicked him several times in the back and ran after the other three suits.  
  
Joey got up rubbing his head and ran over to Michael helping him back up.  
  
"You okay?" asked Joey.  
  
"Yeah, but my back hurts," said Michael.  
  
Yugi got up rubbing his head and said, "Don't mind me."  
  
"Oh sorry Yuge," Joey said. "Didn't see you there."  
  
"It's okay," Yugi said as he came over to his other two friends. "But I guess I should fill you in about what's going on Michael.  
  
"Okay," Michael said as he was still rubbing his back.  
  
Yugi explained to Michael about the Millennium Items, his Puzzle, the spirit that resides in it, the Millennium Rod, and about Salazar.  
  
"So Weevil fell off the platform because Salazar used the Millennium Rod, which can control minds?" Michael asked.  
  
"Yeah," Yugi said.  
  
"What was with those dueling gloves? They were twice as big as they should've been." Michael said.  
  
"Salazar called Weevil an eliminator and last time Joey and I were here, I had to duel an eliminator, they're really skilled duelists, hired to get rid of the weaker duelists by forcing them to duel." Yugi explained.  
  
"Well I heard a rumor about their being ridiculously powerful cards used in the Battle City finals, there was a picture in the newspaper of a red dragon coiled around the blimp where the first matches were held." Michael said.  
  
Yugi panicked for a second and thought, 'Oh no, people know about the Egyptian God Cards???'  
  
"An American Journalist was trying to take pictures of the Battle City Finals, however reporters and journalists weren't allowed on the blimp so he did the next best thing, take pictures from the highest skyscraper." Michael said.  
  
"That explains why Japan wasn't informed about that," said Joey. "By the way, what time is it?"  
  
Michael looked at his watch, "My time says 5:34 PM, but changing to the current time zone, I'd say about 11:56 AM, so almost Noon."  
  
"Noon?" Joey said. "Four hours and I still haven't dueled, I gotta find someone to duel."  
  
Joey ran off to go find a duel going on.  
  
"Let's go get him, I'd like to see what he's got in his deck," Michael and Yugi ran off to go find Joey and who he was dueling.  
  
Joey, meanwhile was running for over 10 minutes, and forgotten all about Yugi and Michael and he was now facing four different duelists, they all looked the same age but they were each of a different nationality and they were all wearing blue and white clothing.  
  
"So you want to duel one of us?" said the Japanese duelist.  
  
"That's right," Joey said. "Now which one of you do I have to duel?"  
  
"Right then, why don't you duel me?" asked the English duelist. "I'll knock you on your bloomin' arse."  
  
"I want to duel him," said the Egyptian duelist. "That last duel I had was hardly a challenge."  
  
"No, I've only dueled once since I've been here and that chump only had one star chip, let me knock him outta tournament," said the American duelist.  
  
"Okay I'll duel you," Joey said as he put on his duel disk as did the American duelist, and they both got on the platform and it elevated up facing each other.  
  
"You got a name, duelist?" asked the American duelist.  
  
"Name's Joey Wheeler," said Joey. "How 'bout you?"  
  
"I'm Justin Grey," he said. "How many star chips are you willing to give up."  
  
"I'll wager three," said Joey. "Then I'll have six.  
  
"Correction: you'll be out of the tournament," Justin said. "And for the fun of it let's both put up two rare cards instead of one."  
  
Joey thought about the stakes he was taking then said, "Alright fine, you've gotta have two decent cards."  
  
"Let's duel!" both the duelists said as their life points went up to 8000.  
  
"Ladies first, so you can go," said Justin drawing five cards.  
  
"Fine then," Joey said, ignoring his insult picking up five cards and drawing an additional card. "I play Axe Raider (1700/1150) in attack mode, and I'll play this card face down ending my turn." A warrior with purple hair wielding an axe and wearing armor appeared and behind him a large card.  
  
'He's gonna feel the pain when he plays whatever strategy he has and I flip my trap card Blast with Chain, even if his monster's stronger, it will die too.' Joey thought.  
  
Justin's turn-  
  
Justin drew his card and smirked at the Axe Raider, "I play Sky Dragon (1900/1800) in attack mode and I play the Magic card, Mystical Space Typhoon." As the purple four-winged dragon appeared onto the field, the card Joey had set face down was blown away and sent to the graveyard. "Sorry but that look on your face was so predictable so anyone could tell it was a trap and now, Sky Dragon attack his Axe Raider, Wind Cutter!" The four-winged dragon raised it wings and unleashed them with a great force of wind so precise it formed a curved blade bisecting Axe Raider, as his upper body fall over and he faded from the field and the remainder of the blade hit Joey.  
  
Joey: 7800  
  
Justin: 8000  
  
Joey's turn-  
  
'Ah man, I never got to see my card in action, well, maybe my other cards will help me out,' thought Joey as he drew his card and got happy.  
  
"Okay Justin," Joey said. "Payback time for my Axe Raider, I play Warrior Dai Grepher (1700/1600) but that isn't all, I equip him with Lightning Blade, increasing his attack to 2500!" as Joey played the two cards, a muscular warrior wielding a mighty sword appeared but that sword vanished and was replaced it with a greater sword that eternally emitted electricity. "Attack his dragon, Dai Grepher! Lightning Blade Strike!" Dai Grepher ran up to Justin's Sky Dragon, electricity gathered greatly in the sword creating a light blinding the dragon and Justin and the warrior decapitated the dragon and its separated body fell to the ground and faded from the field.  
  
Joey: 7800  
  
Justin: 7400  
  
Justin's turn-  
  
"So you have a short and early lead, bravo," he said patronizingly. "Well I draw my card and I play the field card Mountain, and I play Curse of Dragon (2000/1500)," the dueling field they were playing on had vanished and the platforms they were on were now snowy and they were playing on the summit of what it appeared to be, a mountain, even with thermal virtual reality, meaning it was now freezing on the platforms they stood on. "Because were now on a Mountain field, and because of the new rules, Curse of Dragon's stats rise to 2500/2000.  
  
"Man it's freezing," said Joey clenching his arms.  
  
Justin scoffed at Joey and played another card, "I also play one magic or trap card face down ending my turn."  
  
Joey's turn-  
  
Joey drew a card and said, "Okay I play Gearfried, the Iron Knight (1800/1600) in attack mode and I'll lay one card face down ending my turn." The Iron Knight appeared and behind it was a huge card.  
  
-Justin's turn-  
  
"I'll play Twin-Headed Behemoth (1500/1200) in attack mode and his stats rise to 2000/1700 and I'll have him attack Gearfried." As the two headed dragon went to attack, Gearfried, it fell into a hole and got skewered by several spikes one of them impaling a head.  
  
"Ha!" Joey remarked. "Your monster just fell for my Chasm of Spikes trap card and not only do you lose your monster, but one quarter of his total attack points are taken away from your life points.  
  
Joey: 7800  
  
Justin: 6900  
  
"500 life points is hardly a loss, for the trap I put you in," Justin said as his Behemoth came out of the trap, with only one head that was alive. "My Twin-Headed Behemoth has two lives but when he comes back his stats are lowered to 1000/1000 and it just rises up to 1500/1500 from the mountain's effect and he is placed into Defense mode. Now Curse of Dragon kill Gearfried, Dragon's Flame!" The dragon breathed out a ravenous flame frying Gearfried off the field and burning off 900 of Joey's life points.  
  
Joey: 6900  
  
Justin: 6900  
  
"And I end my turn," said Justin. "As well as any lead you will ever have in this duel."  
  
Joey's turn-  
  
'This guy seems to be playing nothing but dragons, and I don't have anything in my hand that gets a field bonus from the Mountain effect, and plus he knew about my Chasm of Spikes so he attacked with a weaker monster that could just come back from the graveyard. He's probably gonna sacrifice it to bring out an even stronger dragon, I'd just have Dai Grepher attack it but that face down card... I have no clue what it is. Gah, this is so frustratin,' Thought Joey.  
  
Joey drew his card and sighed. "I play one card face down defense mode and one magic or trap card face down, ending my turn."  
  
Justin's turn-  
  
"I play Lord of D. (1200/1100) in attack mode and I'll also play The Flute of Summoning Dragon summoning up to two more dragons to the field, and I summon Meteorite Dragon (1800/2000, from power bonus: 2300/2500) from my hand and he gets the field power bonus for being a dragon!"  
  
"I also flip my face down card, and my personal favorite, Dragon's Rage giving all my dragons the ability to deal damage to your defense monsters as if they were in attack mode! Now Curse of Dragon, attack his face down card!" Curse of Dragon breathed a heavy flame onto the card, which was revealed to be Little Winguard (1400/1800) and Joey got hit with the rest of the flames. "Even though my just-summoned dragon can't attack this turn, they will the next turn and then your life points are going to take a plunge.  
  
"Ah man," Joey said to himself. "I can't recover from something like that, and he's got four monsters compared to only one of mine."  
  
Joey saw the dragons, saw his life points at 5000, while Justin was at 6900. The duel had only begun but it seemed it was already going to end... 


	9. Rage of the Dragons Part II

In the midst of the duel Joey began to lose hope already when just one of his monsters was taking on four monsters, most of them being dragons.  
  
Joey drew his card and said, "I play Pot of Greed, letting me draw two more cards." Joey drew two cards and gasped, 'Now way, I can't believe I drew these.'  
  
"I play one card face down, and I'll sacrifice Dai Grepher and bring out Red-Eyes Black Dragon (2400/2000) and the field card Mountain gives him a total of 2900/2500 and I'll have him attack your Lord of Dragons." Joey's dragon gathered energy from his mouth and fired a black and red fireball directly at the spellcaster reducing him to ashes. "That'll end my turn.  
  
Joey: 5000  
  
Justin: 5200  
  
Justin's turn-  
  
"Justin drew his card and sighed, "I sacrifice my Curse of Dragon, and Meteor Dragon to bring out Yamata Dragon (2600/3100) and his attack rises to 3100 and I'll attack your Red-Eyes Black Dragon." The multi-headed dragon spirit and fired numerous breaths of fire burning Red-Eyes to a crisp and removing it from the field and drew 5 cards to what used to be his empty hand. "The other effect of Yamata Dragon is when I deal damage to your life points, I draw cards until I get a total of five in my hand and Yamata Dragon returns back to my hand and ending my turn.  
  
Joey: 4800  
  
Justin: 5200  
  
Joey's turn-  
  
Joey sighed from his loss, and drew his card, "I play another card facedown and flip my other face down card, Gamble." As a large card appeared face down on the field, Joey pulled out a coin from his pocket, "Now I'll call it in the air 'heads' or 'tails.'" With that, Joey flipped the coin and called "Tails" as the coin began to fall, Joey caught it and looked at it and it was... tails.  
  
"Yes!" Joey proclaimed. "Now I get to draw five cards, and I'll play one more card face down."  
  
Justin's turn-  
  
Justin drew his card and said, "I'll play Spear Dragon (1900/0) and his stats rise to 2400 from the mountain.  
  
"Hold it," Joey said flipping his face down card. "I activate Scapegoat, giving me four defenders."  
  
"A lot of good they do, since Spear Dragon's ability allows him to surpass defense monsters so you lose 2400 life points." Justin said as his Spear Dragon sliced through a scapegoat and virtually stabbed Joey and switched to defense mode.  
  
Joey: 2600  
  
Justin: 5200  
  
Joey's turn-  
  
Joey drew his card and smirked. "I play Baby Dragon (1200/700) in attack mode and he gets the field power bonus becoming a 1700/1200 and I'll have him attack your Spear Dragon." Baby Dragon shot a fireball at the long- nosed dragon, killing it and giving Justin the spilled over damage. "And I'll play one card face down, ending my turn."  
  
Joey: 2600  
  
Justin: 4500  
  
Justin's turn-  
  
"I draw and I play Premature Burial and at the cost of 800 life points I revive my Meteor Dragon (1800/2000) and I'll also play Monster Reborn reviving your Red-Eyes Black Dragon to my side of the field and I'll play Polymerization fusing them together to form Black Meteor Dragon (3500/2000)! And even more importantly, his attack and defense shoot up to 4000/2500!"  
  
Joey: 2600  
  
Justin: 3700  
  
Joey saw his dragon fuse with the other and shuddered in horror as his dragon was fused with that other dragon and now a monster of horrific power and he thought, 'How am I supposed to beat that?'  
  
"Because fusion monsters can't attack the same turn they're summoned, and it is your turn, and soon to be your last," Justin said.  
  
Joey's turn-  
  
Joey looked at his entire hand and thought, 'Monster Reborn, Luster Dragon, and Physical Double, and three scapegoats with a Baby Dragon on the field. That's what I have to try and whip this dragon.'  
  
"Joey!" shouted a familiar voice to Joey.  
  
Joey turned around and saw Yugi and Michael.  
  
"We finally found you," said Michael and he looked at the Black Meteor Dragon. "Oh man, Joey, do you know what you're facing?"  
  
"Yeah and I have no clue how to beat it," Joey said.  
  
"Trust in yourself Joey," Yugi said to him.  
  
"Sorry blokes," said the English duelist. "But Justin has this duel all wrapped up, he only needs to fry one of his Scapegoats and he won the duel."  
  
"And who are you?" Michael asked him.  
  
"You'll find out who we are after your friend loses the duel here," said the Japanese duelist.  
  
While Yugi and Michael argued with the other three duelists, Joey told himself, "trust in the cards," as he drew his card and saw it, United We Stand.  
  
"Alright Serenity, I'll make you proud," he told himself as he began to play his cards. "I'll sacrifice Baby Dragon to bring out Emerald Dragon (2400/1400)!" As the little dragon faded from the field, an emerald green dragon with mighty wings appeared on the field and let out a roar. "It's stats boost to 2900/1900. But here's what's really going to hurt, I play United We Stand on Emerald Dragon."  
  
"Oh no," Justin said, sweating buckets.  
  
Every monster on the field began to glow gold and they sent their golden luminescence towards Emerald Dragon and its green scales turned gold from all the light and its attack power skyrocketed to 6100.  
  
"Now Luster Dragon, attack Black Meteor Dragon! Golden Emerald Blaze!" the dragon unleashed a green blast of fire surrounded in gold and hit the Black Meteor Dragon destroying it completely.  
  
Joey: 2400  
  
Justin: 1600  
  
"All right Joey!" cheered Yugi.  
  
"You were saying?" asked Michael towards the other three duelists.  
  
"I'll also end my turn playing one card face down." And a large card appeared behind the golden and once-emerald Dragon.  
  
Justin's turn-  
  
Justin felt himself in a heap of trouble standing against the green and gold dragon as he drew his card and it brought back his smirk. "I play Raigeki destroying all your monsters on the field!" Black clouds gathered on the field, and thunder roared as bolts of lightning came and struck down Emerald Dragon and the three Scapegoats, which brought Joey back into his state of panic.  
  
"And what were YOU saying?" asked the English duelist.  
  
Michael's face grew worried as well, since Joey was wide open for an attack.  
  
"Now that you're unguarded, I play my second Sky Dragon (1900/1800) and he gets an attack boost to 2400/2300 and I'll have him attack you directly! Wiping you out!" The dragon did so and waved its four wings, but as it did, Joey flipped his face down card and a reflective, glassy version of Sky Dragon appeared and did the exact same thing and they both made blades from the force of wind and they passed by both of each other, they were both destroyed.  
  
"What was that?!" shouted Justin.  
  
"That was my trap card, Physical Double," Joey said. "It copies one monster on your side of the field and it makes an exact replica of the monster and because they had the same attack, they were both destroyed."  
  
"Good move, Joey!" Yugi said.  
  
Joey's turn-  
  
Joey drew his card and his eyes opened wide, "This is it, Justin, I play my magic card, Monster Reborn, reviving Black Meteor Dragon (3500/2000)." and as it appeared on Joey's side of the field, Justin fell to his knees on the platform. "Since revived monsters can't attack the first turn they're summoned, it's your move.  
  
Justin's turn-  
  
Justin didn't have the will to play any cards, he said to himself "I was defeated by my own cards, he has my Black Meteor Dragon, and my Dragon's Rage backfired, I've been eliminated from the island..." suddenly he stood up and played another Curse of Dragon, whose attack was raised to 2500 but not enough to withstand the powerful Black Meteor Dragon's attack. "Go ahead, hit me with your best shot."  
  
Joey's turn-  
  
"All right then," Joey said and pointed to Curse of Dragon. "Go Black Meteor Dragon! Attack! Black Inferno Meteor!" The Mighty Dragon flew up high and fired a black ball of energy shot down and as it got closer, a heat shield formed and hit Curse of Dragon, and Justin with a black explosion.  
  
Joey: 2400  
  
Justin: 0  
  
The platforms dropped to the ground and Justin gave Joey his only three star chips and said, "As promised, the loser would ante two rare cards instead of one."  
  
"All right," Joey said. "I'll take your Meteor Dragon, and Spear Dragon."  
  
"Okay," Justin said as he picked out the two cards from his deck, looked at them one last time and handed them to Joey.  
  
As Justin Grey turned towards the docks and began to walk away he said, "Good luck guys, I know you'll succeed where I failed and Joey, you may have beaten me, but no one will ever beat the Blue-Eyes White Dragon Clan." He then walked away  
  
"The what?" Joey asked.  
  
"That would be us," said the Japanese duelist standing next to the Arabian duelist and English duelist.  
  
"Seto Kaiba has his own fan club?" asked Michael.  
  
"Puh-lease, we hate Seto Kaiba," said the Japanese duelist.  
  
"We should've been the true owners of one Blue-Eyes White Dragon each," said the Egyptian duelist.  
  
"Wha?" Yugi, Joey and Michael were all dumbfounded.  
  
"You see," said the English duelist. "There were four Blue-Eyes White Dragon cards and they were sent to England, Japan, America, and Egypt."  
  
"Well we didn't know each other then, but when we went to buy some booster packs in hopes of getting the deadly Blue-Eyes White Dragon, men representing Kaiba Corp had come in and bought all the booster packs in the store," added the Japanese duelist. "But it wasn't just those stores we were at, but all around the world Duel Monster cards were sold out."  
  
"However," said the Egyptian duelist. "Even with Kaiba Corp's massive buying, their attempts were futile, since we each had managed to open a booster pack, holding a Blue-Eyes White Dragon."  
  
"But somehow, Kaiba Corp had found us and would pay us a great amount of money for our cards," said the English duelist. "We refused knowing these cards were priceless to us. But it wasn't long before they took them by force, but we couldn't prove they were ours since we were keeping them secret."  
  
"But when Kaiba Corp's goons faced me for the card," said the Japanese duelist. "I placed it in a small safe and tossed it into a dump truck. That was the only card Kaiba never got his hands on."  
  
"Well someone did find it," Yugi said, "A man named Arthur Hawkins found it and he gave it to my Grandpa. A few years later, Seto Kaiba himself came to my Grandpa's game store, and offered him a briefcase full of rare cards. Grandpa refused, he was too attached to the card, he wouldn't even duel with it. Well sometime later, Kaiba's thugs grabbed my Grandpa and brought him to Kaiba Corp to duel him. My Grandpa lost the duel and Kaiba claimed his Blue-Eyes and when my friends and I got there, Kaiba..."  
  
"Ripped the card in two," said the Japanese duelist.  
  
"How did you know that?" Yugi asked.  
  
"Everyone knows about your duel with Kaiba but very few know that Kaiba destroyed the fourth Blue-Eyes card," the Japanese duelist said. "Well that card was once mine, in a World Tournament, I was defeated in my first round but I met these guys and we all wanted revenge from Kaiba."  
  
"However, we never had the chance to duel him because since he was the defending champion, he only had to duel the winner to defend his title," said the Egyptian duelist.  
  
"But now, we have the chance to duel Kaiba, and when we duel him, we shall defeat him and take him of his Blue-Eyes White Dragons," said the English duelist.  
  
"We mostly use dragon cards, dragon supporting cards, and sometimes other cards," said the Japanese duelist. "Justin may have lost already, but we won't let him down."  
  
"I am Seth Akil," said the Egyptian duelist.  
  
"Right, I'm Jonathan Winston," said the English duelist.  
  
"And I'm Kyoji Hiraga," said the Japanese duelist. "We are three of the four members of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon Clan, and we will defeat Seto Kaiba."  
  
Kyoji looked up at the sun and he knew what time it was, "Well I guess we should be going, we need to get some duels done and we can bet that Kaiba won't be an easy duelist, we'll see you at the finals."  
  
The three duelists walked away, and then split up to get started on their individual duels and Yugi, Joey, and Michael stood there wondering what to do next.  
  
"So even Kaiba's got some rivals besides Yugi," said Joey.  
  
"But he's never dueled them yet," said Michael.  
  
"Even worse for Kaiba," Joey said. "Justin wasn't a walk in the park. They might have even stronger dragons to serve up against Kaiba."  
  
"Let's just wait and see how they do," Yugi said.  
  
Then the three of them walked off to go find some people to duel and duels to watch in the afternoon on Duelist Kingdom... 


	10. Darkness Falls

It had been six hours since the Duelist Kingdom Tournament began and already 100 duelists were already shipping off. But there were plenty more left, but they were dropping by the minute.  
  
A very familiar scene happened while Yugi and his friends were on the island. They were walking through a path in the forest then a loud roar bellowed around them.  
  
"What was that?" Michael asked looking around.  
  
Yugi and Michael looked around then heard the roaring coming from Joey' stomach.  
  
"Uh it's my stomach," Joey said. "Just like last time, how could we forget food like last time?"  
  
Joey began looking around for anything to eat then went running over to a clearing where a beautiful ocean view was and a duel was taking place.  
  
Michael and Yugi caught up with Joey and they were watching a duel between Rex Raptor and Mako Tsunami. The field looked like an ocean to a wasteland, indicating both the duelists had played Field Magic cards, powering up their respective cards. Mako had The Legendary Fisherman (1850/1600) out and High Tide Gyojin (1650/1300) out. While Rex only had Two-Headed King Rex (1600/1200) and one face down card and the life point count was at:  
  
Mako: 600  
  
Rex: 1900  
  
"And I'll first attack your Two-Headed King Rex with High Tide Gyojin!" Mako told Rex as the fish warrior flew out of the water and ripped through the two-headed dinosaur making Rex lose fifty life points. "And I'll finish you off with the remainder of your life points with my Legendary Fisherman!" As the fisherman hurled his harpoon into Rex, his life points began to drop  
  
"Hold it!" Rex said flipping his face down card before his life points reached zero, "I'll activate my trap card, Attack and Receive. When I lose life points, you will too. 700 to be exact and that would make this duel a draw."  
  
Mako: 0  
  
Rex: 0  
  
Joey was watching the duel the duel and even though he missed most of it, he liked what he saw.  
  
As the platforms dropped, Rex and Mako shook hands and began to walk away but noticed Joey and Yugi.  
  
"Ah, hello Yugi and Joey!" greeted Mako.  
  
"Hey Muto, hey Wheeler," Rex said.  
  
"So none of you get kicked out of the tournament?" asked Yugi.  
  
"Nope, looks like we'll have to duel each other another time," said Rex.  
  
"Yes, that duel took forever, we were down to our last cards," Mako added.  
  
"The Japanese Regional Champions," Michael said noticing them. "Rex Raptor and Mako Tsunami, you two have been in the regionals for years, I'm surprised you haven't moved on to the World Championships."  
  
The two of them looked at each other and laughed.  
  
"We're not that good," Mako said laughing.  
  
"Yeah we got our asses handed to us on our first matches," said Rex also laughing.  
  
"Say do you guys know where some food might be?" asked Joey.  
  
"There's a vending machine right behind you," Rex said pointing to two vending machines holding soda and snacks.  
  
"Wow!" said Joey running over to the vending machines, ogling at the junk food.  
  
"Well I should get going," said Mako. "I still need eight star chips until I can qualify."  
  
"Me too," said Rex. "I thought if I beat Fish-boy, I'd be the first finalist."  
  
"Well you thought wrong Dino-Breath," remarked Mako. "Farewell Yugi, and you too Joey."  
  
"Yeah, see ya," said Rex. "Hope to see ya in the finals Wheeler."  
  
As the Ocean duelist and the Dinosaur duelist went their separate ways, Yugi and Michael turned to Joey, trying to break open a vending machine, but the metal bars surrounding it prevented that. After a few more tries at breaking the metal, Joey gave up.  
  
"Why!?" shouted Joey. "Why must I suffer???"  
  
"Calm down Joey," said Michael pulling out some money. "I brought money, it's on the house."  
  
"Really? All RIGHT!" Joey said as Michael gave him and Yugi plenty of money for snacks.  
  
Joey had bought five bags of potato chips, a bag of peanuts, two boxes of animal crackers, four chocolate bars, and two cans of soda. Yugi just had one candy bar, and a can of soda.  
  
"Joey," Michael said looking at his almost-empty wallet. "I think you're taking advantage of my generous offer."  
  
"I'll pay ya back," Joey said opening up the bags of potato chips. "I swear."  
  
Michael then helped himself to the vending machines and after 15 minutes, they had finished.  
  
"That hit the spot," Joey said patting his full stomach.  
  
"Yeah," agreed Yugi. "By the way, Michael. Did you meet Ryan Stone before the World Championships?"  
  
"Yeah, I did," he said. "We both were in the Nationals and dueled each other several times, but he was ruthless in duels, never giving anyone a chance in a duel..."  
  
~Meanwhile...~  
  
Ryan was on a mountain plateau and sighed. He had ten star chips and only needed five more to qualify. However, all his duels were challenges made by other people and he defeated them all without a real challenge.  
  
"You! Ryan Stone!" shouted a young voice behind him.  
  
Ryan turned around to see a really young girl, probably 10 or 12 years old. She had blonde hair in pigtails, and had a Teddy-Bear backpack along with a teddy bear in her arms and her green eyes were filled with anger at Ryan.  
  
"Oh hello Rebecca," he answered.  
  
"Don't 'hello' me!" Rebecca Hawkins, the former American champion answered. "You know exactly why I'm here! I'm here to challenge you to a duel and knock you out of the tournament!"  
  
"You're still mad over the Nationals, huh?" he asked.  
  
"You cheated!" she shouted. "That stupid Limiter Removal is your finisher for everything, so I challenge you to duel with out it. I wager all three of my star chips!"  
  
"Just three?" he asked. "So much for the 'child prodigy,' you said you'd have won all fifteen by now."  
  
"I've had some setbacks!" she answered. "I should've been the National Champion! My deck was unbeatable!"  
  
"YOUR deck? That 'deck' was made by your grandpa," Michael said. "It has a bunch of older cards, they can't compete with the new cards."  
  
"That's why I improved it!" Rebecca said. "It's unbeatable now, isn't it Teddy?"  
  
"Oh yes Rebecca! That victory was all a fluke for him!" Teddy said but it was really Rebecca throwing her voice. "He could never do it again!"  
  
"That's why I challenge you right here, right now! Winner take all!" Rebecca said taking out her duel disc from her backpack.  
  
"As you wish," Ryan said standing up, brushing off his Duel Disk on his right arm, indicating he was left-handed. Ryan took out the two Limiter Removals from his deck and into a case in his backpack.  
  
Then on the plateau, an arena rose up from the floor and the platforms elevated down and both the duelists walked on their sides and it rose up to the arena.  
  
"So winner take all?" asked Ryan shuffling his deck. "My ten star chips for your three."  
  
"I'll show you, this how the real American Tournament should have ended!" Rebecca said.  
  
"Let's duel!" they both said as their life point meters went up to 8000.  
  
"Losers first," Rebecca said picking up five cards.  
  
"Fine," Ryan replied picking up five cards, and an additional card. "I'll play Master Kyonshee (1750/1000) in attack mode and I'll end my turn." A dead body rose from the ground and wielding a curved, double-edged sword and a piece of parchment covered his face.  
  
Rebecca's turn-  
  
"Now you'll lose one quarter of your life points in one turn!" Rebecca said drawing her card. "I play Cannon Soldier (1400/1300) in attack mode and I'll play Scapegoat!" As the mechanical soldier with a mounted cannon appeared, so did four different colored sheep. "I'll first sacrifice each sheep token to deal a total of 2000 damage!" As each sheep's energy was drained from its body and given to Cannon Soldier, it fired four blasts of energy directly at Ryan four times. "But I'm not done! I also play Rush Recklessly making my Cannon Soldier a 2100/1300 for one turn. Now Cannon Soldier! Attack his Master Kyonshee!" The cannon soldier charged its cannon and fired another blast destroying Ryan's Master Kyonshee completely. "Whee! That'll end my turn!"  
  
Ryan: 5650  
  
Rebecca: 8000  
  
Ryan's turn-  
  
Ryan drew his card and said, "I play Thunder Nyan Nyan (1900/800) in attack mode and I'll attack your Cannon Soldier. Thunder Nyan Nyan! Thunder Shockwave!" The drummer woman slammed her drumsticks on the drums creating a visible wave of sound with electricity hitting Cannon Soldier, shattering it like glass. "I'll end my turn."  
  
"Oh No! My precious Cannon Soldier!" Rebecca said as she saw her monster fall and her life points drop.  
  
Ryan: 5650  
  
Rebecca: 7500  
  
Rebecca's turn-  
  
Rebecca drew her card and said, "Look what card we drew Teddy! I play Monster Reborn reviving my Cannon Soldier, and I'll sacrifice it to bring out Millennium Shield (0/3000)," as the Cannon Soldier appeared on the field, it vanished once more and an enormous shield of red on the inside and solid gold on the outside with the millennium symbol in the center. "But that's not all, I'll equip it with Horn of Light increasing its defense even further to 3800!" Right above the millennium symbol an illuminating horn appeared. "And I'll end my turn!"  
  
Ryan's turn-  
  
"I'll draw and I'll play Sapphire Dragon (1900/1600) in attack mode ending my turn," Ryan said as the sapphire blue dragon appeared.  
  
Rebecca's turn-  
  
Rebecca drew her card and said, "I play Ring of Magnetism lowering my Millennium Shield's defense to 3300, but it's worth it, and I also play one card face down in defense mode ending my turn."  
  
Ryan's turn-  
  
"I'm well aware what Ring of Magnetism does," Ryan said drawing his card. "I also know what you're going to do, you're trying to bring out your Shadow Ghoul with a great amount of power like last time. But unlike you, I improved my deck, and here's one of my new cards, I'll sacrifice Thunder Nyan Nyan to bring out Blowback Dragon (2300/1200)."  
  
A machine dragon, resembling Barrel Dragon appeared, but this dragon only had one cannon, mounted on its head. As it appeared, Ryan pulled out a quarter. "I'm using his effect I flip a coin three times, if I get 2 out of 3 heads, it can destroy one card on the field. Including magic or trap cards."  
  
Ryan then flipped the coin three times and they landed on heads, tails, and... heads. Then Blowback Dragon charged its cannon. "I'll have him attack your Millennium Shield. Attack!" The dragon fired a blue blast of energy, shattering the shield to shards.  
  
"No!! My impenetrable shield!" Rebecca cried. "My strategy gone down the drain!"  
  
"That strategy was biding your time only to discard your monster cards," Ryan said. "Now I'll damage you some more by hitting you with my Sapphire Dragon, Attack!" Luster Dragon breathed out a river of blue flames frying Rebecca's face down card and leaving her open for an attack. "Now Blowback Dragon, attack her directly." The mechanical dragon fired a blast of energy directly at Rebecca.  
  
Ryan: 5650  
  
Rebecca: 5200  
  
Rebecca's turn-  
  
Rebecca began to panic as she drew her card, "I play another card facedown in defense mode."  
  
Ryan's turn-  
  
Ryan drew his card and said, "Rebecca, I'll be blunt. I'm pretty sure I can wipe out the rest of your life points in this turn."  
  
"What?" she said. "There's no way will you win. I'm a child prodigy and this duel end once I..."  
  
"Seriously," Ryan interrupted. "This duel will probably end in once I use Blowback Dragon's effect.  
  
"Fine use your stupid theory," Rebecca said.  
  
"Okay," Ryan sighed. "I play Mechanical Chaser (1850/800)," then he pulled out his quarter again and flipped it and the first two results were heads, and Blowback Dragon fired another charged blast destroying it. "Now I'll attack you with all three of my monsters, dealing 6050 direct damage.  
  
Ryan: 5650  
  
Rebecca: 0  
  
"Oh no!" Rebecca cried at her defeat then as her platform dropped and she ran away not giving her star chips.  
  
Ryan only shrugged, knowing she'd get caught because she bet all her star chips and lost so security would be after her. But he didn't seem to care, he stayed on the plateau knowing he could get some more.  
  
~Meanwhile back where Yugi, Joey and Michael were...~  
  
Everyone had finished eating and they were in talk over Ryan.  
  
"So Ryan's a ruthless duelist without a care for anyone?" asked Joey.  
  
"Yeah," Michael said. "You should've seen his other tournaments."  
  
"He's really someone we should watch out for," Yugi said.  
  
"Well, it's 3:00 PM right now how about we catch in some duels?" asked Michael.  
  
"Sure," said Yugi standing up.  
  
"Why not?" Joey asked getting up and stretching.  
  
The three of them watched some intense and not-so-intense duels and pretty soon, the sun was beginning to set.  
  
~Salazar's Castle, 5:43 PM~  
  
"This is it my eliminators," Salazar said to five men, one had already left. "As the sun drops, you shall weed out the weaker duelists. I do not tolerate failure, Mr. Underwood is an example of that. You were all given 10 star chips, I expect you to come back with both dueling gloves full to a total of sixty. It will be a long night for you all, show no mercy and never let your guard down for a second. Now go to your designated spots, the sun sets completely in a half hour."  
  
The eliminators nodded in agreement and went off to their areas of duelist kingdom, but Salazar stopped one of them.  
  
"Wait you," Salazar said to him. "I have a special mission for you, you're going to wait by the docks."  
  
The eliminator knew what he was talking about and began laughing and set out towards the docks.  
  
~Duelist Kingdom Forest, 6:10~  
  
"So should we sleep here tonight?" asked Michael leaning against a tree.  
  
"We did that last time," Yugi said.  
  
"Yeah, hardly got any sleep though," Joey said. "Besides, it's a bit early."  
  
"I guess we'll make due," Michael said. "Say Joey, how about a quick duel, for fun?"  
  
"Okay sure," Joey said, taking out his deck.  
  
Suddenly, the sun had disappeared awfully fast and the night sky and the full moon were all that showed already.  
  
"That was freaky," said Joey.  
  
"That can't be good," Yugi said as he looked to where the sun once was.  
  
"Maybe we should duel another time," Michael said.  
  
~30 miles northwest of Duelist Kingdom~  
  
"I maybe late," Kaiba said to himself, flying a Kaiba Corp helicopter. "But I'm sure I could have won enough star chips in an hour or so. But Salazar will pay for what he's done to my company."  
  
After a few more minutes of flying, Kaiba noticed how fast the sun had set but he could see Duelist Kingdom already and he saw the docks. He landed the helicopter in the center and got out, taking his Duel Disk with him.  
  
As he walked to leave the docks, a dark figure in a robe was standing in his way.  
  
"You're Seto Kaiba I presume," he said.  
  
"What of it?" Kaiba said.  
  
"I'm here to welcome you to Duelist Kingdom again," the man said. "And to take you out of the duel right here and now."  
  
"Get lost," Kaiba said. "I'm not dueling any of Salazar's goons, he'll have to duel me face to face."  
  
"I'm so sorry you feel that way," the man said pulling out a remote from the dark robe he wore and pressed a red button on it, and Kaiba's helicopter exploded greatly and the man was left cackling... 


	11. Through the Flames

From the explosion Kaiba emerged from the flaming wreckage unharmed.  
  
"So, you survived?" asked the black robed man. "I expected as much! HA HA HA HA HA HA!"  
  
Kaiba got up to his feet and said to the man, "You're deranged, but if you want a duel that bad, fine by me." Then Kaiba put on his Duel Disk with his deck already in it.  
  
The black robed man threw off the robe and revealed himself. He had dark red hair and it was styled to make it look like fire, he also had dark brown eyes, and was wearing a black duster, with flames rising from the bottom to the top, as well as black flaming pants as well, his Duel Disk was mostly black and it had fire on it. He also wore two dueling gloves on each arm and he took out two of the star chips and placed them from across Kaiba.  
  
"Those star chips will be yours if you survive," the man said.  
  
"Survive? You're awfully sure of yourself," Kaiba said shuffling his deck and placed it back in his Duel Disk as well as the white dueling card to accommodate the new dueling rules.  
  
"You think you're gonna make it?" the man asked pulling out a lighter and sparked it making a small fire appear. "Just in case you get scared and run away," he tossed the lighter to the edge of the dock and instantly fire caught around the docks surrounding Kaiba. "The only way out is through me."  
  
"Fine," Kaiba said.  
  
"I'm Kaji Inferno," the man said.  
  
"Let's DUEL!" both the duelists said and their life points on the duel disks went up to 8000.  
  
"I'll start," Kaji said drawing the first five cards and drew an additional attack. "I'll first play three Hinotamas!" Several fireballs rained down and altogether hit Kaiba for 1500 life points. "Then I'll play Sangan (1000/600) in attack mode." Then, a short three-eyed monster appeared on his side of the field, defending his life points. "I'll end my turn.  
  
Kaji: 8000  
  
Kaiba: 6500  
  
"That pathetic weakling's defending your life points?" Kaiba asked. "I summon La Jinn (1800/1000) in attack mode and I'll attack Sangan." The green genie appeared on the field and he clapped his hands together and vanished and reappeared in front of the panicking Sangan and delivered a powerful punch to the little Sangan sending him to the graveyard. "I'll end my turn."  
  
"Well from Sangan's effect, I get to place a card with 1500 or less attack points from my deck to my hand." He fingered through his deck and placed the card in his hand.  
  
Kaji: 7200  
  
Kaiba: 6500  
  
Kaji's turn-  
  
"I'll draw and I'll play one card face down defense mode and one magic or trap card face down and I'll end my turn." Kaji said as the two large face down cards appeared on the field.  
  
Kaiba's turn-  
  
"Running away already?" Kaiba asked. "I play Blood Vors (1900/1200) in attack mode and I'll have La Jinn attack your face down card." As the axe- wielding monster appeared, La Jinn clapped his hands and vanished again to reappear in front of the face down card, but as he was about to deliver a punch, Kaji flipped his face down card.  
  
"I activate Gravity Bind," Kaji said as Kaiba's monsters suddenly got weighed down by a force of gravity. "Your monsters of levels four or higher can't attack."  
  
"Damn," Kaiba said. "I end my turn then."  
  
Kaji's turn-  
  
"I draw my card, and I flip Big Eye (1200/1000) from face down defense to attack mode," as the multi-eyed fiend appeared on the field, Gravity Bind weighed it down. "I activate his effect to look at the top five cards from my deck and arrange them however I want." He did so and arranged the cards. "I also play one card face down ending my turn."  
  
Kaiba's turn-  
  
Kaiba drew his card and said, "I play Swordstalker (2000/1600) in attack mode," as his sword wielding monster appeared, Gravity Bind took effect. "And I'll end my turn."  
  
Kaji's turn-  
  
"You're biding your time to bring out Obelisk aren't you?" asked Kaji. "A very destructive card, indeed. But you'll never bring it out with what I have."  
  
"How do you know about the Egyptian God Cards?!" asked Kaiba.  
  
"Master Salazar told me and the other eliminators what to watch out for if we were to take on you or Yugi." Kaji said.  
  
"Well even if you do know about my Egyptian God Card, you'd be blessed to be crushed by its power!" Kaiba said.  
  
Kaji drew his card and smirked, "I play Burning Land now during the beginning of each of our turns, we'll lose 500 life points. And that ends my turn."  
  
Kaiba's turn-  
  
Right when Kaiba's turn started a wave of fire hit him, and he lost 500 life points.  
  
"I'll draw my card," Kaiba said. "And I'll play Opticlops (1800/1700) in attack mode, and I'll end my turn."  
  
Kaji: 7200  
  
Kaiba: 6000  
  
Burning Land took effect and hit Kaji for 500 life points.  
  
"I draw and I'll play Graceful Charity," then Kaji drew three cards and discarded two of them. "One of the cards I discarded was Marie the Fallen One and because of her effect, next turn I'll only lose 300 life points. "I also play Fire Princess (1300/1500) in attack mode, but Gravity Bind prevents her from attacking so I end my turn."  
  
Kaji: 6700  
  
Kaiba's turn-  
  
Burning Land took effect on Kaiba burning 500 of his life points again.  
  
"I play Battle Ox (1700/1000) in attack mode," Kaiba said as his monster was brought down by Gravity Bind. "I end my turn."  
  
Kaiba: 5500  
  
Kaji's turn-  
  
From Burning Land, Kaji lost 500 life points, but from Marie the Fallen One, he gained 200 back, so he only lost 300 life points.  
  
"Here's another combo," Kaji said. "Every time I heal my own life points, Fire Princess's deals 500 direct damage to you." As he said that, Fire Princess hurled a ball of fire directly at Kaiba.  
  
As Kaji drew his next card and said, "I play the Magic Card, Poison of the Old Man. Now I can choose to deal another 800 direct damage to you or I could heal my Life Points by 1200. I think I'll heal my life points." As the old man appeared, the purple vial was turned completely into a gas towards Kaji and it healed him of 1200 life points. But as Kaji was healed, Fire Princess hurled another fireball directly at Kaiba again. "And I end my turn."  
  
Kaji: 7600  
  
Kaiba: 4500  
  
Kaiba's turn-  
  
Burning Land burnt Kaiba again and he lost another 500 life points.  
  
'If I don't draw Obelisk soon, this fire-starter's going to wipe me out, either that or I need something to destroy his Gravity Bind.' Kaiba thought to himself. 'No, I can't be intimidated by Salazar's lackey, if I give up now, then Kaiba Corp will never recover.'  
  
Kaiba drew his card and said, "I summon X Head Cannon (1800/1500), one face down card and I'll end my turn.  
  
Kaji's turn-  
  
Burning Wave hit him again but from Marie the Fallen One, he only lost 300 life points, but he still got healed. And from that, Fire Princess hurled another fire ball at Kaiba and lost another 500 life points.  
  
Kaji drew his card and said, "I sacrifice my Big Eye to bring out Labyrinth Wall (0/3000) in defense mode. "And I'll also play one card face down ending my turn."  
  
'It doesn't matter what powerful monster he'll play next turn, Ring of Destruction will annihilate it and the rest of his life points!' Kaji thought.  
  
Kaji: 7300  
  
Kaiba: 4000  
  
Kaiba's turn-  
  
Kaiba drew his card and laughed, "This duel is over, you flamer. I'll sacrifice X Head Cannon, Battle Ox and La Jinn to bring out The God of Obelisk (4000/4000)!"  
  
"So sorry, but because of this trap card, Ring of Destruction and when it destroys Obelisk, we'll both lose 4000 life points, enough to take you out entirely! HA HA HA!!!" Kaji laughed, but as the Ring formed and spun its flame towards Obelisk, Obelisk wasn't destroyed. "WHAT HAPPENED?!"  
  
"So sorry, but because this is an Egyptian God Card, trap cards have no effect on it so we don't lose any life points," Kaiba said.  
  
"Oh no!" shouted Kaji as his Fire Princess hid its face in fear from Obelisk even Labyrinth Wall's stone walls shook in the God Card's presence.  
  
"But that's not all, I'll sacrifice my other two monsters, Blood Vors and Swordstalker to use Obelisk's deadly attack." The two monsters were picked up by the God Card and their energy was sucked dry and then Obelisk pulled back his fist and threw the punch right towards Kaji and all his monsters.  
  
KABOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!  
  
Kaji's Fire Princess was easily reduced to dust and then some and Labyrinth Wall shattered to thousands of pieces that also were obliterated as well as 4000 of Kaji's life points.  
  
"If you thought that hurt," Kaiba said. "That wasn't his actual attack, HERE'S his attack! Fist of Chaos!" The God of Obelisk hurled another deadly punch destroying the remainder of his life points to zero.  
  
Kaji: 0  
  
Kaiba: 4000  
  
Kaji had fallen to his knees, in shock.  
  
Kaiba walked over to the center that was between him and picked up the two star chips and placed them in his blue dueling glove.  
  
"No, I can't lose," Kaji said to himself. "He'll kill me..."  
  
"What are you mumbling about?" Kaiba asked.  
  
"I'd rather be dead then to be controlled by him, who knows what torture he'll put me through..." Kaji said as he stood up and pulled out the remote. "Kaiba, you'd better run while you can. There's enough explosives around the docks to blow everything sky-high."  
  
Kaji pressed the button and started counting down.  
  
"10... 9... 8..."  
  
Kaiba gasped and ran passed Kaji and kept on running as fast as he could.  
  
"7... 6... 5... 4..."  
  
Kaiba was only halfway there but he wasn't stopping for anything.  
  
"3... 2..."  
  
Kaiba had increased his speed greatly as kept on running and he was almost there...  
  
"...1."  
  
The floor beneath and around Kaji exploded killing him instantly, and the concrete docks were being blown off and Kaiba was hit with the force of the explosion and went flying forward as he hit the ground and he covered up his neck and head from any falling debris.  
  
The explosion was heard throughout the island and made many duelists wonder what was that?  
  
Kaiba got up and looked behind him at the smoking ruins of the dock and said, "Two explosions in the same half hour, Salazar is insane for doing this." Kaiba then walked into to the forest to the inside of duelist kingdom...  
  
~Meanwhile, back where Yugi, Joey, and Michael were...~  
  
"What the hell was that?" Michael said.  
  
"I dunno," Joey said. "Thunder, maybe?"  
  
~Salazar's Castle, 6:34~  
  
Salazar noticed that Kaji's Duel Disk wasn't receiving a signal on a large computer monitor.  
  
"So Kaji couldn't take the heat," Salazar said and chuckled from his joke. "Well I don't blame him for committing suicide, that's a fate better than living for him."  
  
Salazar pressed a button on his desk showing current data on duelists and he typed in the name, Yugi Muto. "Hmmm... only four star chips? I'd expect more from Muto."  
  
Salazar then pressed a different button with multiple surveillance cameras all over the island one of the cameras had Yugi talking to Joey and Michael, he looked off to another camera showing one of his eliminators devastating duelist dealing 6000 damage in one turn. Another eliminator had wiped out his opponent using only magic and trap cards.  
  
"Well they seem to be dueling well," Salazar said.  
  
Then he turned his head to camera where docks once were and said, "You're lucky you're dead, Kaji."  
  
~Duelist Kingdom Forest, 6:47~  
  
"Man, I'm hungry again," Joey said as his stomach growled.  
  
"Ugh," responded Michael. "You're a bottomless pit, Wheeler."  
  
Yugi laughed at that and said, "Maybe we should build a fire or something?"  
  
"Okay," Michael said as he pulled out some water canteens. "I'll go find some fresh water to fill these up with."  
  
"Then Yuge and I'll get the firewood," said Joey.  
  
Before Michael left, he picked up a stick and stuck it deep in the ground, "That's so we remember where it is."  
  
As they split up, Michael went north, and Yugi and Joey went off to the west.  
  
"So Yuge," Joey said as picked up some sticks. "Michael's a nice change of pace from other World Champions, huh?"  
  
"Yeah," Yugi said picking up some sticks as well. "I have to admit, he's a great guy."  
  
"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!" shouted someone not to far from where Yugi and Joey were... 


	12. The Vengeful Eliminator

A scream could be heard not too far from where Yugi and Joey were.  
  
"You hear that?" Joey asked.  
  
"Yeah, let's go check it out," Yugi said.  
  
They both ran to where the screams came from, dropping the firewood. They arrived to a dueling platform where one side was completely dark and the duelist facing the darkness had zero life points while the other duelist only had 5250.  
  
"I lost..." said the duelist as his platform dropped.  
  
"No, you were eliminated!" said the other duelist laughing evilly.  
  
"Is that who I think it is?" Joey asked.  
  
As the other platform dropped, the duelist walked over to the defeated duelist and lifted him up by his right wrist where his dueling glove was and tossed him to the ground. The duelist was huge, over 7 feet tall and he was wearing all dark clothes and the hat on his head read "P K"  
  
"Panik!" Yugi shouted.  
  
Panik looked over to Yugi and Joey and noticed Yugi instantly, "YOU!"  
  
The defeated duelist ran away into the forest and was gone.  
  
"Panik, how'd you come back from the Shadow Realm?" asked Yugi.  
  
"Salazar did it, and now that I'm back, I'm gonna break your arms!" Panik said as he walked towards Yugi with his hands out.  
  
Joey stood in between them and said, "Get lost Panik, if you ever place a hand on one of my friends you're gonna have to eat through a straw."  
  
"What if I place a hand on YOU?!" he shouted throwing Joey off guard and gave him a really hard blow to the gut, and he fell to the ground.  
  
"Joey!" Yugi shouted as he got down helping Joey up.  
  
However Panik had other plans. He grabbed Yugi by his jacket and tossed him six feet. Yugi's deck box had opened and cards had scattered on the ground.  
  
"Yugi!" shouted Michael as he ran out of the forest and jumped and tackled Panik, but Panik didn't fall down by absorbing the whole attack and slammed Michael on the ground.  
  
Michael tried to get up, but Panik stomped on his back.  
  
"Here." Michael said weakly as he threw several of Yugi's cards towards him that were scattered on the ground. "Kick the crap out of this guy."  
  
Yugi got really mad and the Spirit of the puzzle intervened. "Panik! Get off of him! Your duel is with me!"  
  
Panik removed his foot from Michael's back and said, "Yes we shall duel but under different conditions. You have to bet all of your star chips and put your Puzzle on the line, too."  
  
"Very well," Yugi said as he got onto his platform and it rose up.  
  
'Very well' indeed!" thought Panik as he got onto his platform. "Maybe you should have let me finish."  
  
Panik pressed a button on his console and mechanical cuffs appeared on each side of Yugi and Panik and from their ankles to their knees, they were locked on the field.  
  
"What is this?!" Yugi shouted.  
  
"A safety precaution." Panik said. "Master Salazar's made it so the eliminators don't get away with losing. The loser in this duel will descend with their platform with an uncontrolled drop."  
  
"Let's duel!" they both said and their life points shot up to 8000.  
  
"I'll start," Panik said picking up five cards and drew an additional one. "I'll first start by playing The Castle of Dark Illusions (920/1930) in defense mode and I'll play one magic or trap card face down ending my turn." But as the face down monster card and the magic or trap card appeared, all of Panik's side of the field as well as Panik vanished in the darkness.  
  
"What's this?" Yugi asked.  
  
"Scared of the dark, Yugi?" Panik asked.  
  
"He used this same cheap trick before, his card has the ability to hide his other defense monsters," Joey said to Michael as they both got up from their injuries.  
  
Yugi's turn-  
  
"Hiding in the darkness will never save you," Yugi said drawing his card. "I play Breaker the Magical Warrior (1600/1000) and when he's summoned he's given a spell counter that raises his attack by 300 points making it 1900. I'll also play one card face down ending my turn."  
  
Panik's turn-  
  
Panik drew his card and said, "I play one monster in attack mode," because of the darkness, Yugi couldn't see what card was there and Panik wasn't giving any help. "And I'll attack Breaker the Magical Warrior!"  
  
Before the monster could emerge from the darkness and attack Breaker, Yugi thought strategically about this, 'If he's attacking Breaker, then it must have more than 1900 attack.'  
  
Right when the monster had emerged from the darkness to jump up and strike down Breaker, Yugi flipped his facedown card, "I activate Spellbinding Circle, remember it, Panik? It binds the monster and makes it unable to attack," the monster was revealed to be King of Yamimakai (2000/1530) and it returned to Panik's dark side of the field.  
  
"Then I'll end my turn," grumbled Panik.  
  
Yugi's turn-  
  
"Yugi, your pathetic cards don't matter you're only prolonging the inevitable," Panik said to him and began laughing.  
  
Yugi ignored him and drew his card and thought, 'Mirror Force? This won't work against his defense monsters.'  
  
"Hurry up and make your move!" Panik shouted.  
  
"Fine, I play the Dark Magician Girl (2000/1700) in attack mode and I'll have her attack your Castle of Dark Illusions!" The Dark Magician Girl fired a purple blast of energy destroying Panik's castle and making his monsters now visible.  
  
"No! My Castle!" shouted Panik.  
  
"No more hiding in the shadows for you, Panik," Yugi told him.  
  
Panik's turn-  
  
Panik drew his card and laughed, "I play Remove Trap destroying your Spellbinding Circle and I'll also play Fissure destroying your weakest monster, Breaker the Magical Warrior!"  
  
"Not so fast," Yugi said. "I activate Breaker the Magical Warrior's special ability to destroy your Fissure magic card and it lowers his attack to his original 1600."  
  
"Then I'll end my turn," Panik said, now even more annoyed.  
  
Yugi's turn-  
  
Yugi drew his card and smiled, "I'll sacrifice Breaker the Magical Warrior and I'll bring out the Dark Magician (2500/2100)!" As the magic warrior of red armor vanished, a magical warrior in purple armor appeared. "Dark Magician, attack his King of Yamimakai!" Dark Magician did so by opening his left palm and unleashed an invisible attack that changed King of Yamimakai's color negative and it disintegrated from the field.  
  
Panik cringed his teeth at Yugi's smug look and thought to himself, 'That's right, think you're ahead right now.'  
  
"And now, I'll have my Dark Magician Girl attack your life points directly, Attack!" The Dark Magician Girl did so by firing another purple blast of energy towards Panik directly but as it was halfway there, a ball of metallic slime appeared in front of the blast, and it was hit with the blast and as the smoke cleared, it remained unharmed.  
  
"What's that?" Joey said looking at the ball of slime.  
  
"Yugi might have some trouble with that card," Michael said.  
  
"That's right, I activated my trap card, Metal Reflect Slime and it's also trap card as well as a monster. And it has 3000 defense points! Try and break through that, Yugi!" Panik said and began laughing.  
  
Panik: 7500  
  
Yugi: 7000  
  
Panik's turn-  
  
Panik drew his card and said, "What's bad is only going to get worse for you, Yugi. I play one card face down in defense mode ending my turn."  
  
Yugi's turn-  
  
"You may have a powerful defender on your field for now, but you won't have anymore defenders on the field." Yugi said as he drew his card. "Dark Magician, attack his face down monster!" The Dark Magician aimed his staff towards the face down card and fired several black bolts of energy to it but as the monster flipped face up, Spirit Reaper. The monster was hit with the blast, but it remained on the field.  
  
"What was that you were saying?" Panik asked. "I believe there's another powerful defender, Spirit Reaper. He cannot be destroyed by the effects of battle."  
  
"Panik's deck must be all-out defense," Michael said. "I can only think of one card that can wipe them all out."  
  
"I hope Yugi's got it," Joey said.  
  
Panik's turn-  
  
Panik drew his card and laughed, "I play one card face down in defense mode and I'll play one magic or trap card face down ending my turn."  
  
Yugi's turn-  
  
"I draw and I play Curse of Dragon (2000/1500) in attack mode and I'll end my turn." Yugi said.  
  
Panik's turn-  
  
"Didn't want to attack? I expected as much," Panik said drawing his card and laughed looking at it. "First, I'll flip my face down card, summoning another Metal Reflect Slime in defense mode and I'll sacrifice my face down monster to bring out General of Impenetrable Defenses (1550/2500) in defense mode." As the second metal blob appeared, the facedown defense card vanished, being replaced by a warrior wielding a huge sword. "But this monster has an exclusive ability. He can attack even if he's in defense mode. First I'll play Pot of Greed drawing two cards." Panik drew his cards and laughed. "I'll play two Reliable Guardians, each one increases his defense by 700 for one turn giving him a defense power of 3900! Now my General, attack his Curse of Dragon!" The General charged at Curse of Dragon and beheaded it dealing Yugi 1900 damage. "That'll end my turn."  
  
Panik: 7500  
  
Yugi: 5100  
  
Yugi's turn-  
  
Yugi drew his card and was surprised to see it as he thought, 'Osiris! But I can't play this, there's got to be something else but what? I just have to trust in the Heart of the Cards.'  
  
"I play one card face down in defense mode and I'll play Swords of Revealing Light, ending my turn." Yugi said as the bright swords appeared blinding Panik and his monsters.  
  
Panik's turn-  
  
"Your light show won't last long," Panik said as he drew his card and said, "I'll play one card face down ending my turn."  
  
Yugi's turn-  
  
Yugi drew his card and said, "I play Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts (1500/1200) in attack mode and I'll flip my face down card Berfomet (1400/1800) and I'll play the magic card Polymerization, fusing them to create Chimera the Flying Mythical Beasts (2100/1800) and I'll end my turn."  
  
Panik's turn-  
  
"Trying to give my General a bunch of targets, eh Yugi?" Panik asked. "How thoughtful of you. Well two more turns until my General will wipe out all your monsters."  
  
"Think what you want," Yugi said. "These cards will devastate you and your defenders!"  
  
'I'm well aware there isn't a card in Yugi's deck besides Valkyrion and his Egyptian God Card that can break through my defenses but I have something special for that card...' Panik thought to himself as he drew his card. "I flip my face down card, Lightforce Sword and now at random I'll discard a card from your hand and it is unplayable for 4 turns." A sword appeared on Panik's side of the field and it shot towards Yugi and it skewered Yugi's card, Saint Dragon God Osiris and Yugi placed his Egyptian God Card in a compartment on his Duel Disk.  
  
Yugi's turn-  
  
'If I can't use Osiris how can I break through all of Panik's monsters' Yugi thought drawing his card, and said. "I'll play Celtic Guardian in attack mode and I'll end my turn."  
  
Panik's turn-  
  
"1 turn until your swords are gone and your demise will begin," Panik said drawing his card. "I'll pass my turn"  
  
Yugi's turn-  
  
Yugi drew his card and said, "I'll sacrifice my Celtic Guardian to bring out the Summoned Skull (2500/1200) and I'll play one card face down ending my turn."  
  
Panik's turn-  
  
The swords had faded and Panik laughed, "Now you're in for it Yugi! I'll draw my card and I'll play Horn of Light increasing his defense to 3200 and now I'll attack your Dark Magician Girl!"  
  
A glowing horn appeared on the General's forehead and the big-sword- wielding warrior charged at the female spellcaster and as he raised his sword to strike her down, Yugi flipped his face down card.  
  
"I activate Magical Hats, Hats materialize!" Yugi said as he took two magic cards from his deck and three hats appeared, one of them holding Dark Magician Girl. "Choose if you have the courage!"  
  
"I'll show you, you insolent whelp!" Panik shouted. "General of Impenetrable Defenses, attack the middle card!" The warrior lifted up his huge sword and slashed it down on the middle card, and it was revealed to hold nothing. "What, nothing?!"  
  
"Well looks like you chose wrong," Yugi said as the hats vanished and the Dark Magician Girl appeared on the hat to Panik's right.  
  
"No matter," Panik said. "My General can wipe out all your monsters now, and you won't even have enough monsters to sacrifice to bring out Osiris! HA-HA-HA!!!"  
  
"That laugh's getting annoying," Michael said.  
  
Yugi's turn-  
  
'He's right,' I'll never get enough monsters to bring out Osiris or even get my Magnet Warriors out, he's slowly wiping me out, I really need the right card right now,' Yugi said drawing his card hoping it will be something good.  
  
"What?" Yugi said to himself. "This isn't my card."  
  
Yugi looked at the card and read the title 'Dark Force.' But even more mysterious was that the card's effect wiped out all of your opponent's face up defense monster.  
  
"Taking your time in admitting defeat?" asked Panik.  
  
Yugi's turn-  
  
Yugi ignored him and said, "I play Alpha the Magnet Warrior (1400/1700) in attack mode and I'll play one card face down." The green magnet warrior appeared and behind it was a face down card.  
  
Panik's turn-  
  
"Here's the Beginning of your end, General attack Alpha the Magnet Warrior!" Panik shouted.  
  
However as the warrior was about to strike the Magnet Warrior down, Yugi flipped his face down card and a black barrier surrounded Alpha and shot towards the General destroying it completely, but that wasn't all that was destroyed, the wave kept on spreading destroying his two Metal Reflect Slimes and his field was now empty.  
  
"No! Where did you get that card!?" Panik shouted.  
  
Yugi thought back to when this card could've been slipped into his deck and remembered when Michael handed Yugi some of his cards, but Yugi remained silent about it.  
  
Yugi's turn-  
  
Yugi didn't need to draw a card, he had five monsters enough to wipe out Panik. "Dark Magician, Summoned Skull, Chimera, Dark Magician Girl and Alpha attack his life points directly!" All five of the monsters unleashed their attacks dealing a total of 10500 Direct Damage to Panik wiping out his life points.  
  
Panik: 0  
  
Yugi: 5100  
  
"It's over, I won." Yugi said.  
  
"Yeah that's showin' him Yugi!" Joey cheered.  
  
"Damn that was a lot of damage," Michael said.  
  
Panik began quivering in fear as his platform began making weird mechanical noises then all of a sudden, it had detached from the arena and fell 15 feet towards the ground. But Panik had survived the fall and that's what he hated more.  
  
"No... Master Salazar, please, not that," Panik said to what it seemed, no one.  
  
Yugi, platform descended normally and the cuffs covering his shins were removed and he walked over to Michael and Joey who were all looking over to Panik in a very familiar scene.  
  
Panik's forehead became occupied by the Millennium symbol and he pulled out a key unlocking the cuffs to his shin, pulled out four star chips from his enormous dueling gloves, and ran off to the forest. Yugi, Joey and Michael chased after him but not before Michael took the four star chips. They ran through the forest and when they got through, they saw a cliff to the edge of the ocean.  
  
"Salazar, stop!" Yugi shouted.  
  
Panik's controlled body turned to Yugi and said, "This fool is weak and expendable, I do not tolerate failure, and he knew that when he got hired."  
  
Then like Weevil, Panik opened up his arms in a crucifix position and leaned back on the edge of the cliff and Salazar released Panik's control and Panik fell into the shallow water filled with rocks. They killed him on impact breaking many bones including his skull several times and then his corpse was washed out to sea and he was gone.  
  
The spirit of the puzzle left Yugi's body and he fell to his knees in shock, since he's never seen a person killed in such a shocking way. But Yugi wasn't the only one Michael and Joey were in a state of shock too.  
  
"Come on guys," Michael said. "I don't know who this Salazar guy really is but if he's capable of this he has to be stopped."  
  
"Yeah," Yugi said standing back up. "Salazar is a heartless beast, and he must be stopped.  
  
Then three of them walked away from the cliff at 8:00 PM on Duelist Kingdom...  
  
NOTE: I'm well aware Castle of Dark Illusions has a different effect (something that powers up zombies for several turns) but I thought it'd be more befitting if the Castle gave off the whole darkness effect enshrouding Panik's cards like the first time he used it. Also, I'm not sure how Magical Hats works, because there were three extra monsters along with three hats on the field, but oh well.  
  
Also, I'll be using dozens of yet-to-be-released Japanese cards, in case you never heard of some of the cards. 


	13. Nightmare at Midnight

It was late at night almost 8:30, and Seto Kaiba was just about to finish off his opponent who had put up a good fight until Kaiba played his strongest card.  
  
"Now Obelisk, crush this poor excuse of a duelist! God Hand Crusher!" Obelisk absorbed Kaiba's Battle Ox and his Blood Vors and then hurled his powerful fist annihilating his five monsters on the field and devastating his life points.  
  
"What kind of a card is this!?" the duelist shouted as his life points began to plunge to zero.  
  
"This is the messenger of your demise, he's the Lord of Destruction," Kaiba said. "You should be honored I'm defeating you with it!"  
  
The defeated duelist dropped to his knees and gave Kaiba his remaining six star chips now giving Kaiba a total of 12. Kaiba took the star chips and left the duelist who walked towards the docks.  
  
'This is pathetic,' Kaiba thought to himself. 'I've dueled three times on this island and each duelist thought they had the advantage I guess the best duelists will be in the finals. And if Salazar gave me back my God Card, then he probably gave Yugi back Osiris. Well that will be in Yugi's possession for the time being.'  
  
~Meanwhile~  
  
Yugi Joey and Michael arrived back to the area they agreed to reside in; the stick Michael had previously stuck in the ground was still there. As they sat down, Yugi gave Michael his card Dark Force back.  
  
"Thanks," Yugi said. "If you hadn't have put that in my deck, who knows what could've happened."  
  
"Well, I was pretty sure Panik would've used defense monsters and what better to give him something that throws all his strategies out the window." Michael said.  
  
"Speakin' of cards," Joey said. "Which card is your favorite, the one you must relate to?"  
  
"My favorite card?" Michael asked and he began looking through his deck. "Never really thought about it. But I'd have to say... this card, Dimensional Warrior."  
  
Joey looked at its stats: 1200/1000 and said, "With those stats it isn't too much to brag about it."  
  
"Well its effect sure as hell will make up for it," Michael said. "It has won me tons of duels. Well what are your guys' favorite cards?"  
  
Joey thumbed through his deck and pulled it out, "I like the Flame Swordsman, that's my all-time favorite."  
  
Yugi looked through his deck and took out, "Well my favorite's the Dark Magician, hands down."  
  
"Both of those cards are cool looking," Michael said. "And they work in a fusion, I believe."  
  
"Yeah they make the Black Flare Knight," Yugi said. "And when destroyed by a stronger monster, you don't get any battle damage and you can bring out the Mirage Knight and it can devastate any monster and its owner's life points."  
  
"Yeah," Michael said. "I'd hate to take on one of those."  
  
The three of them talked about cards, combos, and what they think is going to happen in the tournament until they talked until Midnight.  
  
As Yugi slept, he awoke to find Michael and Joey were sound asleep against tree trunks but what he also saw was the Spirit of the Puzzle waiting for Yugi to awake.  
  
"Yami?" Yugi asked while yawning. "What is it?"  
  
"It was about that vision you had just yesterday," Yami explained. "Now that it's a day later, why don't you try seeing that vision, it seems really important."  
  
"Okay," Yugi said as he pulled out the Millennium Tauk (Necklace) and placed it on his neck.  
  
Yugi closed his eyes and began focusing and concentrating hard, focusing on the vision and when he opened his eyes, it was the same vision. However the vision was much clearer. Yami Yugi was dueling against a black robed man, but the hood hid his face. Joey was cheering Yugi on to give him some more confidence. On Yugi's side of the field, he had Alpha the Magnet Warrior (1400/1700) in defense mode, Neo the Magic Swordsman (1700/1000) in attack mode, and Giant Soldier of Stone (1300/2000) in defense mode.  
  
On the black robed man's side of the field were Zombyra the Dark (2100/500), Ceremonial Bell (0/1850), and Darkfire Soldier #2 (1700/1100) all in attack mode.  
  
Then, Future Yami Yugi said, "The end is now! I'll sacrifice my three monsters to bring out Saint Dragon God Osiris!" As the three monsters vanished the enormous, two-mouthed, red dragon appeared and roared, but the image began to look scratchy but before he could see anything else, he returned back to reality.  
  
Yugi collapsed to the ground but from all his focusing, but he was hit over the head by a black robed man.  
  
Joey had suddenly awoken and saw what the black robed man did and shouted, "Yugi! That's it you're dead!" Joey charged and tackled the black robed man and threw off his hood revealing one of Duelist Kingdom's suits, he could tell by the dark glasses. But that Joey didn't stop from beating the suit silly with a few punches knocking him out.  
  
Yugi got up and looked around to only see Michael was gone, "Uh Joey, where's Michael?"  
  
Joey got up and said, "I thought you knew."  
  
Then, a strike of intuition hit the both of them like a ton of bricks when a flash of light came not too far from where they were standing.  
  
"Let's try there," Yugi said and they ran off fast towards where the flash was.  
  
When they arrived, it was too late. Another black robed man was on a dueling platform and a defeated Michael lied on the ground, and seemed to be unconscious.  
  
"Michael!" Yugi and Joey shouted in unison.  
  
Joey ran to go get Michael, but five other black robed men stepped in and one said to Joey while pulling out a gun, "Get back to that side of the arena, or we won't be responsible of what could happen to you or your friend."  
  
Joey got really mad and stepped back by Yugi.  
  
"You, Muto," said the black robed man's voice that sounded like it was being controlled by someone on the dueling platform. "Get on that platform, not for star chips but for your Puzzle and your friend."  
  
"What?!" Yugi shouted. "You people will stop at nothing to get that puzzle, I won't wager it."  
  
"I thought you'd deny it," the man said as he snapped his finger then the five black robed men on the ground each pulled out guns, cocked them and aimed them all at Michael's head.  
  
"No!" shouted Yugi. "Okay I'll duel by your rules..."  
  
Joey was extremely ticked off now as he raised a clenched fist but dared not move for Michael's sake.  
  
Yugi was equally mad but before he could do something, from behind him came another blow to his head from the black robed man Joey failed to knock out.  
  
"Yugi!" Joey shouted as he went to tackle the suit again, but a suit pointed a gun at him signaling Joey to step away from the black robed man and Joey did but not before the black robed man gave Joey a punch, which he could to nothing about.  
  
Yugi was knocked out from the last hit he took but his puzzle illuminated and he transformed into his darker half, got up and told the black robed man on the platform, "I shall duel you, for the sake of my puzzle and the sake of my friend, but if I win this duel none of you can insure you'll still be in this world!"  
  
Yami Yugi stepped up on the platform and it rose to face the black robed man.  
  
"This is one of my eliminators, but under these circumstances, I'll be controlling him to duel, you may call us Nightmare." The black robed man told Yugi.  
  
Yugi shuffled his deck and said, "Salazar, you've reached a new low, I can never forgive you of this."  
  
"I never expected you to," Nightmare/Salazar said.  
  
"Let's DUEL!" they both shouted and their life points went up to 8000.  
  
"I'll start," Nightmare/Salazar said. "I'll play Gadget Soldier (1800/2000) in attack mode and I'll play the magic card Revival of Dokurider and by sacrificing my Gadget Soldier I can Ritual Summon my Ritual monster, Dokurider (1900/1850)." As thunder roared and crashed on the field it took Gadget Soldier and in a smoking crater, out-rode a Demon riding on a motorcycle with a dragon-like skull on the front. "And I'll end my turn."  
  
Yami Yugi's turn-  
  
Yugi glanced over at the card and knew he didn't have anything to destroy the card so he said, "I play one card face down in defense mode and I'll play one card face down ending my turn." One large card appeared sideways and behind it was another large card behind it facing forward.  
  
Nightmare/Salazar's turn-  
  
"Well if you think you're getting the better of me, you're sadly mistaken," Nightmare/Salazar said as he drew his card. "I play Cold Wave, making it so you can't set or activate your magic or trap cards until my next turn." It was so and Yugi's large card was frozen in a block of ice. "And now Dokurider, attack his face down card, Full Throttle Wheelie!" The motorcycle-riding zombie put on the gas and shot towards Yugi's facedown card and he leaned black and the spiked wheel was about to strike down on the card, it was flipped face up and a huge rock endured the attack.  
  
"I may not have any monsters in my hand that can destroy your Dokurider, but defending it is a different matter, with my Giant Soldier of Stone (1300/2000)." Yugi told him.  
  
Nightmare/Salazar: 7900  
  
Yami Yugi: 8000  
  
"That's showin' him Yugi!" Joey said.  
  
Yami Yugi's turn-  
  
Yugi drew his card and smiled, "I'll sacrifice my Giant Soldier of Stone to bring out my Summoned Skull (2500/1200)! Now Summoned Skull, attack Dokurider! Lightning Strike!" The boned demon gathered electricity in its claws and fired a ball of lightning, scorching Dokurider, knocking him clear off his motorcycle and off the field. "And I'll end my turn."  
  
Nightmare/Salazar: 7300  
  
Yami Yugi: 8000  
  
Nightmare/Salazar's turn-  
  
Yugi's face down card had thawed out and Nightmare drew his card and said, "I play one monster face down in defense mode and one magic or trap card face down ending my turn."  
  
Yami Yugi's turn-  
  
Yugi drew his card and looked over to the face down card and said, "I'll play Neo the Magic Swordsman in attack mode and with Summoned Skull, I'll attack your face down card, with Lightning Strike!" As the Summoned Skull began to gather electrical energy, Nightmare flipped his face down card and a purple mask with horns appeared and latched onto Summoned Skull's face.  
  
"I activated my trap card, Mask of Weakness, decreasing your Summoned Skulls attack power to 1800." Nightmare/Salazar said.  
  
As Summoned Skull continued to gather energy but the mask glowed purple and as the blast fired, it got a bit smaller and as it closed in on the card, an explosion was made with a cloud of dust. When the dust cleared, a bloated Mummy was there wielding a big axe.  
  
"That would be my Giant Axe Mummy (1700/2000), and with his effect, any card that attacks with a monster with an attack power lower than my mummy's defense, they get destroyed." Nightmare/Salazar explained.  
  
The bloated mummy lifted his axe up and ran up to Summoned Skull and axed him on his chest and that sent the masked Summoned Skull to the graveyard.  
  
Nightmare/Salazar: 7300  
  
Yami Yugi: 7800  
  
Nightmare/Salazar's turn-  
  
Nightmare drew his card and said, "I'll play one magic or trap card face down, ending my turn."  
  
Yami Yugi's turn-  
  
Yugi drew his card and said, "I'll play Dark Magician Girl and I'll equip her with Magic Formula increasing her attack power to 2500," as the female spellcaster drank from the bottle, she glowed green. "Now Dark Magician Girl attack Giant Axe Mummy!" She did so by firing a green blast of energy towards the bloated zombie and it was destroyed, but as the Mummy fell, Nightmare flipped his facedown card.  
  
"I activate Ring of Destruction, and I choose to destroy your Dark Magician Girl," as the huge metal ring with flames ignited all around appeared, the flames hit Dark Magician Girl, sending her to the graveyard and burning both Nightmare and Yami Yugi's life points down by 2500."  
  
As the flames vanished, Yugi's turn wasn't over, "You forgot about my Magic Swordsman, now Neo, attack his life points directly!" The Magic Swordsman placed his index and middle finger on to his sword and glowed blue and he ran up and slashed Nightmare across the chest.  
  
Nightmare/Salazar: 3100  
  
Yami Yugi: 5300  
  
Nightmare/Salazar's turn-  
  
Nightmare drew his card and said, "I play Pot of Greed and Graceful Charity," he drew five more cards and sent two to the graveyard. "And now I'll play one card face down in defense mode."  
  
Yami Yugi's turn-  
  
Yami Yugi thought, 'He must have a powerful defender on the field and next turn he'll sacrifice it to bring out an even stronger one. But I need a strong one as well.'  
  
Yami Yugi drew his card and it was just what he needed, 'Osiris! This card would be extremely useful to use against him, but I should only use it in an emergency. But this is an emergency, I have to save Michael.  
  
"I'll play Monster Reborn reviving my Giant Soldier of Stone (1300/2000) in defense mode and I'll also play Alpha the Magnet Warrior in defense mode as well." Yugi said. "And I'll end my turn."  
  
Nightmare/Salazar's turn-  
  
Nightmare drew his card and laughed, "I'll play Premature Burial, by paying 800 life points, I'll revive Zombyra the Dark (2100/500), I'll also play Monster Reborn reviving Dark Fire Soldier #2 (1700/1100) and I'll also play Ceremonial Bell (0/1850) in defense mode, and from Ceremonial Bell's effect, we have to show each other our hands as long as it's face up on the field."  
  
They showed each other their hands and in Nightmare's hand were Shadow of Eyes, Opticlops (1800/1700) and Fissure.  
  
In Yugi's hands were Curse of Dragon (2000/1500) and Saint Dragon God Osiris (X000/X000).  
  
"Well look what you've got," Nightmare/Salazar said. "I'll end my turn."  
  
Yugi's turn-  
  
Yami Yugi drew his card and said, "The end is now! I'll sacrifice my three monsters to bring out Saint Dragon God Osiris!" As the three monsters vanished the enormous, two-mouthed, red dragon appeared and roared, but the image began to look scratchy, the image looked really messed up, it was as if the card wasn't being recognized. Then Osiris vanished from the field leaving the field.  
  
"WHAT!?" Yami Yugi shouted. "What happened?!"  
  
To Be Continued... 


	14. Evil's Arrival

As Yugi's Egyptian God Card vanished from the field, he was left in shock and wonder while Nightmare was laughing manically.  
  
"What's so funny?" Yami Yugi asked.  
  
"Oh you'll see," Nightmare/Salazar said.  
  
Nightmare Salazar's turn-  
  
Nightmare drew his card and because Ceremonial Bell's still on the field he showed it to Yugi and didn't make any sense, it was the Egyptian God Card Saint Dragon God Osiris.  
  
"How can you have Osiris!?" Yami Yugi asked.  
  
"That Egyptian God Card you just used was a fake but this one is the real deal," Nightmare/Salazar said. "I'll sacrifice my three monsters to bring out the real Saint Dragon God Osiris (X000/X000)," as his three monsters vanished, the two-mouthed, long red dragon appeared on the field and it roared at the sight of Yugi. "Since I hold three cards in my hand, Osiris' attack and defense are 3000. Now Osiris attack your former master's life points directly, Thunder Force!" The God Card gathered blinding white energy from his lower mouth and fired it directly at Yami Yugi.  
  
Nightmare/Salazar: 3100  
  
Yami Yugi: 2300  
  
Yami Yugi's turn-  
  
Yugi was in complete shock over what had happened and was very confused. 'My own Egyptian God Card's a fake and this guy has the real one,' Yugi thought to himself, then he looked at his phony card and noticed something, there wasn't a stone background behind Osiris but pure blackness. 'How could I have not seen that? Two years and I've forgotten what a card looks like.'  
  
"Hurry up so I can finish you off," Nightmare/Salazar said.  
  
Yugi then drew his card, and said, "I play Curse of Dragon (2000/1500) in attack mode ending my turn."  
  
"But from Osiris' effect, he destroys any monster with 2000 or less attack. Summon Light Impact!" Nightmare/Salazar said, and it was so, the upper mouth of Osiris shot a blast at the yellow dragon destroying it from the field.  
  
Nightmare/Salazar's turn-  
  
"Now Osiris, attack and wipe out the rest of this pathetic duelist's life points, Thunder Force!"  
  
As the red dragon gathered energy in his lower mouth, Yami Yugi said, "Yugi, I am so sorry... I tried."  
  
Then the blast was fired and it wiped out Yami Yugi's life points, and reverted back to Yugi.  
  
Nightmare/Salazar: 3100  
  
Yami Yugi: 0  
  
Joey was in a state of shock as much as Yugi as he fell to his knees in the sight of his best friend's defeat.  
  
The platforms dropped and Yugi walked over to Joey, but Nightmare came to Yugi and Joey and said in his normal voice, "I believe you must keep your end of the bargain, hand over your puzzle."  
  
"WHAT!?" Joey shouted. "How... Dare... You even think you should get anything from that duel, you cheated to win that duel, and Yugi's not giving you ANYTHING!!"  
  
In rage, Joey threw a powerful punch across Nightmare's hooded jaw, and the other black hooded men pointed their guns at Joey.  
  
"No," Nightmare said holding his jaw. "Use your fists."  
  
The other six black robed laughed and either punched their fists into their other hand or cracked their knuckles and got ready for a fight. Joey didn't care about the odds; he and Tristan once took on twenty guys at once and won. Then three of the black robed men charged at Joey with their fists pulled back. As they arrived and threw their fists at Joey, but Joey acted quickly and stepped back to avoid the attacks and he stepped forward and threw both of his arms and punched the black robed man on the left and right knocking them to the ground, and he drove his right leg into the abdomen of the other black robed man knocking him to the ground as well. However it seemed the tables turned when another black robed man came from behind and grabbed Joey by his waist and the other two black robed men charged at Joey to punch him out. Joey had other plans when he raised up his arm and let it drop elbowing the black robed man in the head, releasing him and Joey turned around and punched him right in the face knocking him down too. The remaining two arrived to Joey and tackled him from behind. Normally, Joey couldn't lift both their bodyweight, but in his state of rage, he overpowered them both, stood back up and turned around to face them. The two went to double-punch Joey but he tackled them both to ground.  
  
"Who else wants some of this?" Joey said to the six beaten-up black robed men.  
  
He looked around then saw Nightmare and noticed he was as tall as he was and knew he could take him, "Now you're gettin' it." Joey charged at the eliminator and threw a punch towards Nightmare's face, but Nightmare had swift reflexes and he caught the punch, with his free hand, he threw a punch into Joey's gut and then with his hand grabbing Joey's arm, he threw him over his head and slammed Joey hard into the ground.  
  
"Joey!" Yugi shouted as he ran over to help his friend up but he had his back turned to Nightmare.  
  
"You fool," Nightmare said as he grabbed the chain behind his neck and the puzzle rose up to Yugi's neck and choked him. "You should've ran while could."  
  
Yugi gagged as Nightmare's grip on the chain grew and he lifted Yugi off the ground hanging him.  
  
"Yugi..." Joey groaned, but his rage couldn't lift him up from what Nightmare did to him.  
  
Nightmare dropped the chain, dropping Yugi to the ground, coughing but as Nightmare walked away, Yugi was on his hands and knees trying to get back up and said, "No... my puzzle..."  
  
Nightmare ignored Yugi and the six black robed men got back up, still in wobbling around after Joey beat the crap out of them and one put the unconscious Michael over his shoulder and they left Yugi and Joey.  
  
After 20 minutes of walking, Nightmare and the six black robed men arrived to the castle and as they walked up the many steps, two black-suited guards were at the door, but as soon as they saw Nightmare, they both pulled out key cards and placed them in slots behind them and the huge metal doors opened up and the seven walked in.  
  
They walked down the hallway and made several turns facing two wooden double doors then Nightmare turned around facing the six black robed men.  
  
"I'll take it from here," Nightmare said and looked at Michael. "Go put that somewhere."  
  
Nightmare then opened the doors and Salazar was sitting across a long table watching TV from a projected silver screen that came out of the ceiling. Nightmare walked over to Salazar and pulled out the Millennium Puzzle.  
  
"Master Salazar," Nightmare said. "I am pleased to give you the Millennium Puzzle."  
  
Salazar turned his eyes to the black robed man whose face was still concealed, "Excellent work. Muto never had a chance, huh?"  
  
"Nope," Nightmare said and he pulled the top card off his deck. "I believe I was only supposed to borrow this card, so here you go."  
  
Salazar took the card and glanced at it, it was the Egyptian God Card Osiris he then turned back to Nightmare, "You retrieved the Millennium Puzzle, well done, now where's the Millennium Tauk?"  
  
Nightmare remained silent, then said, "I... uh... didn't get it."  
  
Salazar's face went from pleased to angered, "You didn't? Well why not?"  
  
"What's the point? Yugi was devastated after losing his puzzle he'll never pick up a card again," Nightmare said.  
  
"I don't care if you broke both his legs and arms!!" he shouted as he stood up revealing the Millennium Rod clutched tightly in his right arm. "But as long as he holds a millennium item, and one that can see into the future, he can be one step ahead of us!!"  
  
Then, one of Salazar's servants came in to see what the commotion was. But as he entered, Salazar gave him a dark look and pointed the Millennium Rod at him and the servant was brought down to the ground then, a barrier of darkness covered the servant and when it faded, he was gone. Even Nightmare was shocked at what happened, and then Salazar's dark look had faded and he was panting, with a feared look on his face, and he dropped the Millennium Rod to the floor.  
  
"Master Salazar?" Nightmare asked. "Are you alright?"  
  
"Y-yes, well it's late, I'm going to turn in," Salazar said as he went for the door. "But be sure to get the Millennium Tauk by tomorrow. Use Osiris again and if you can, use that other card I gave you."  
  
Nightmare took off his hood and sighed took the red Egyptian God Card and placed it in his Duel Disk. Then he looked down at the Millennium Rod, he knew what it capable of, but something told him not to take it and he placed his hood back on and began to exit the castle.  
  
~Meanwhile~  
  
An hour passed since Yugi got his Millennium Puzzle stolen and Joey was recovering his injuries from Nightmare by sleeping. Yugi couldn't sleep from what had happened and he pulled out his Millennium Tauk and looked at it.  
  
'I should've warned Yami,' Yugi thought. 'But I was knocked out, so he didn't know what he was up against. Yami's strong, he won't give in to Salazar, but maybe I should take a closer look at my predictions from now on.'  
  
Yugi then placed the Millennium Tauk around his neck and tried to see the future, he closed his eyes and focused hard trying to see something and after about a minute he opened his eyes and saw the future.  
  
This vision was very different, he saw Michael he had three monsters on his side of the field while the opposing duelist had none. Yugi saw Joey himself, and another person that he couldn't make out. Then Michael sacrificed one of his monsters but before anything else could happen, Yugi had returned back to reality.  
  
Yugi was panting, but something had cheered him up, 'Michael's back, at least he's still safe and it looked like Joey and I are cheering him on.' Yugi sighed and lied against a tree trunk to go to sleep.  
  
~Salazar's Castle, 3:42 AM~  
  
Salazar was tossing and turning in bed and then he awoke and looked around. Then he exited his bed and went back into the Dining Room and saw the Millennium Rod was still where it was on the floor right by the chair he was sitting at. He hesitated at first, but something in Salazar's head told him not to get it but an even greater force told him to grab it. He did so and that unsure force died within him.  
  
"Hmm?" Salazar then noticed the Millennium Puzzle that was placed on the long wooden table. "Ah yes, one more millennium item, which resides in it is the Pharaoh, but what's this? I sense two spirits in the Puzzle... but without a vessel, neither of them can be reached. It seems Yugi will be getting his puzzle back sooner than expected..." 


	15. Double Duel Part I

Yugi awoke to find Joey still asleep but his injuries were gone and looked a lot better from last night. Yugi then got up and was about to take off the Millennium Tauk, but something told him not to. Yugi stood up and then looked up to the see the morning sun rising up, but it was being covered up by clouds, and it seemed it was going to rain.  
  
Yugi forgot about the scars of defeat, but he still couldn't figure out how his Osiris was fake, he was sure it was real, but how did he get the fake card, he didn't know. He also wanted to get his puzzle back, but how?  
  
Yugi sat down watching the sun rising before the clouds would block it out and sighed.  
  
The sun suddenly shone brightly, and that seemed to wake Joey up as he yawned and awoke.  
  
"Yuge?" Joey asked when he saw his back, and then he stood up and walked over to his best friend. "Hey what's wrong?"  
  
Yugi sighed and said, "It's nothing."  
  
"Hey I've known you long enough to know that it's never nothing," Joey said. "Is this about your duel last night?"  
  
Yugi sighed again and nodded.  
  
"Do you remember back when we were at Battle City?" Joey asked. "Well remember when I lost my duel to one of Malik's Rare Hunters? Well he beat me and took one of my strongest cards, Red-Eyes Black Dragon."  
  
Joey flashed back to when he was dueling in the alley then watching as the Rare Hunter summoned Exodia, destroying Joey's Red-Eyes and all his life points.  
  
"Remember what happened the next day?" Joey asked. "You dueled the same guy, kicked his ass, and got back my Red-Eyes, but I thought you would need to use it in the future. Was I right?"  
  
"Yeah," Yugi said while nodding.  
  
"So you lost your puzzle," Joey said. "You were a great duelist before you even had it, you've even dueled quite a few times without it, but Salazar won't be keeping it for long."  
  
"Thanks Joey," Yugi said as he stood up. "I needed that."  
  
"Oh how touching!" a female voice called behind them.  
  
Yugi and Joey turned around and saw Mai.  
  
"Mai!" both of them said.  
  
"How long have you been standing there?" Joey asked.  
  
"I heard the whole thing," Mai said. "Yugi, you couldn't have asked for a better friend."  
  
Joey laughed nervously from this and said, "So, changing the subject, how've you been doin' so far?"  
  
"Well if you must know," Mai said looking at her dueling glove. "I have the 15 star chips I need already, how about you too?"  
  
"I have six," Yugi said.  
  
"Eight for me," Joey said.  
  
"Well you boys better pick up the pace," Mai said. "At 5:00 PM, the finals will be decided, and I haven't seen as many duelists as yesterday, it's like they've disappeared."  
  
"Well I only need one more duel," Joey said. "I just gotta bet seven star chips and then I'm in."  
  
"Yeah and I need two more duels and then I'll be in the finals, too." Yugi said looking at his star chips.  
  
"Well I might know where some duelists are," Mai said. "You just have to find them."  
  
"Okay then," Joey said.  
  
The three of them walked out of the forest for good and began looking for duelists.  
  
~Salazar's Castle, 9:14 AM~  
  
Salazar was in his office and he was viewing two monitors of two of his three remaining eliminators. One eliminator used only magic and trap cards and was in control of the entire duel. Another eliminator had ran through his opponent's remaining life points with just one monster.  
  
Then, Salazar pressed a button on an intercom and said, "Magi, Titan, report!"  
  
"Master Salazar, I am pleased to inform you I have wiped out 35 duelists off the island," one of the eliminators said.  
  
"Well I've ran through 36 duelists right now," the other duelist said.  
  
"Well I have a mission for you," Salazar said. "You two are to duel Yugi Muto one after the other, he is off to the northwest of the island, corner him in that peninsula there so he can't escape. Do not fail me."  
  
"Yes Master Salazar," the two of them said and they both left their dueling platforms and set out for the northwest.  
  
Salazar turned off the intercom and looked at the Millennium Puzzle on his desk and pressed a different button on his intercom and said, "Croquet, bring in Mr. Underwood."  
  
In a few moments, two suits brought in Weevil Underwood, he was bandaged around his waste and his left arm was in a cast.  
  
"You two may take your leave," Salazar said to the two suits and they left the office, shutting the door.  
  
"Mr. Underwood," Salazar began.  
  
"Y-yes sir?" Weevil stuttered.  
  
"You realize you broke several rules," Salazar said. "One: You began dueling before the eliminators were supposed to. Two: You were supposed to duel Yugi Muto yet you dueled someone else and lost..."  
  
"I didn't have a choice, that guy made me duel him!" Weevil said.  
  
"That is no excuse," Salazar told him. "And you knew about my zero- tolerance towards any defeated eliminators before you even left on your own."  
  
Weevil got really nervous now, not knowing what his punishment would be.  
  
"Now because you lost, I could either kill you or worse," Salazar said.  
  
"Worse!?" Weevil yelped as he turned around to run away, and as he tried to open the door, but it was locked.  
  
"Weevil Underwood, I hope your soul enjoys its permanent stay," Salazar said standing up and unveiling the Millennium Rod and his voice got dark. "To the Shadow Realm!"  
  
Weevil let go of the door and looked behind to see the Millennium Rod pointing at him then, the blinds on the window all closed, the lights all went off and the eye on the rod emitted a blinding white light. Weevil looked down at his feet and they were being covered in pure darkness and it rose up until it covered him completely and all he saw was eternal darkness.  
  
However, it seemed Weevil didn't leave the room at all, as he collapsed to the ground. The shutters reopened and the lights turned back on and Salazar looked down at the empty shell of Weevil Underwood.  
  
"Now things can begin," Salazar said...  
  
~Meanwhile~  
  
Yugi, Joey and Mai were walking down a dirt road and off to the right side of them, the ocean crashed along the rocks. As they continued walking, they eventually arrived to a small peninsula, with waves coming from all sides. They had found some duelists, but Yugi, Joey, and Mai were all in much higher leagues than they were so they were turned down.  
  
"Aw man," Joey said. "Sure there are plenty of duelists, but none of them wanna duel, what's the point of them being here?"  
  
"You got me," Mai said. "They're all a bunch of cowards, they're just going to be shipped off when the time comes."  
  
The other duelists soon left and the three of them were left alone but not for long, a tall hooded man standing about 5'11" arrived dressed in a dark blue robe with really loose sleeves, but there wasn't a bottom half to robe, but instead was loose black pants held up by a blood red belt. Some of his blue-green hair hung out from his hood and unlike Nightmare, his pale hooded face was shown and it was focused on Yugi.  
  
"Yugi Muto," he said.  
  
"Yeah?" Yugi asked.  
  
"We are going to duel then," he said as he rolled up his left sleeve revealing his duel disk. "For all of your star chips."  
  
"Hey!" shouted a gruff voice from behind the short-robed man. "No fair, Magi, I was supposed to go first!"  
  
Another man appeared, he was enormous, almost bigger than Panik. He stood about 6'7", his head was shaved and he had tan skin much different than his counterpart and wore a long black robe but it had short sleeves and on his left arm was a duel disk.  
  
"Well Titan," Magi said to the giant. "I got here first, so tough luck."  
  
"Bull shit!" he shouted as he clenched his fist towards Magi. "I'm dueling Muto, or I'll knock your teeth out!"  
  
"You talk big," Magi said. "But you got nothing to back it up."  
  
"I'll duel you then!" Joey interjected. "Me and Yugi will take both you losers on."  
  
Both of them looked at each other and laughed.  
  
"I'm okay with it," Magi said. "I could take on three duelists at once and not even lose a life point. I am Salazar's strongest eliminator, I am Magi."  
  
"Fine," Titan said. "I'll crush both you little runts. You got something wrong Magi. I am Salazar's strongest eliminator, I am Titan."  
  
Then, an arena rose up from where they were and on each corner was a dueling platform for each duelist.  
  
"I'm puttin' up seven star chips which will give me fifteen if I win," Joey said.  
  
"Yes and I'll wager all six of my star chips," Yugi said.  
  
Magi and Titan got on their dueling platforms and they rose up to the arena.  
  
Yugi and Joey got on the opposing side and their platforms rose up as well and they faced the two eliminators.  
  
"Let's duel!" The four duelists said in unison as their life points went up to 8000 each.  
  
"Here's how it will go," Magi said. "The turn play will go with me, then Yugi, then Titan, then Joey, then me again and so on. On the first turn, no one can attack after that, everyone can attack. Also, if your partner is open for a direct attack, you can use one of your own monsters to defend the attack. And we can also play magic or trap cards that can power up our partner's monsters. Each of us will have 8000 life points, when both of one team is defeated, the duel is over."  
  
Magi's turn-  
  
"Now I'll start," Magi said drawing five cards and one more card. "I play the magic card Wave-Motion Cannon, and I'll play four magic or trap cards face down ending my turn." As a large cannon appeared, beside it appeared four cards facing down.  
  
Yugi's turn-  
  
Yugi drew his five cards and an additional card and said, "I play Beta the Magnet Warrior (1700/1500) in attack mode and I'll play one card face down ending my turn."  
  
Titan's turn-  
  
Titan drew his first five cards and another card and said, "I play Dark Elf (2000/800) in attack mode, ending my turn." What looked like the Mystical Elf appeared and held her hands together chanting something.  
  
Joey's turn-  
  
Joey drew five cards then another card and said, "I play Panther Warrior (2000/1600) in attack mode and I'll lay one card face down ending my turn." A large cat in armor and wielding a sword appeared defending Joey and behind was a large face down card.  
  
Magi's turn-  
  
Magi drew his card, smiled and said, "I flip my face down card, Mask of Restrict," as the creepy looking horned mask appeared and Magi continued, "Now none of us can sacrifice to bring out any monster. And I'm not yet finished, I flip my other face down card, Nightmare Wheel, on your Magnet Warrior, Muto." And it was so, Beta was suddenly brought down to the ground and a bone-like contraption held a wheel that began spinning faster and faster each second. "As long as I have Nightmare Wheel out, Beta can't attack or switch positions except by effect of magic, trap or monster card, you could sacrifice it, but with Mask of Restrict out, you can't do that so Beta will have to stick around. And when my next turn begins, you'll be hit with the Nightmare Wheel. That'll end my turn."  
  
Yugi's turn-  
  
Yugi drew his card and sighed saying, "I play Dark Magician Girl (2000/1700) in attack mode and I'll end my turn."  
  
Titan's turn-  
  
Titan drew his card and laughed, "I play Jirai Gumo (2200/100) in attack mode, and I'll have Jirai Gumo attack Panther Warrior, but before I can attack, I have to flip a coin." Titan pulled out a coin. "I call Heads." He flipped the coin and as it flew high into the air, it landed back down landing on heads. "And now I'll attack Panther Warrior, Spider Venom Claw!" The large spider ran over to Joey's cat warrior, and as it claws were about to come down and strike, Joey flipped his face down card and a chain ensnared Titan's spider.  
  
"I activated my trap card, Chained Boomerang and not only does it switch one of your attack monsters in defense mode," Joey said. "But I can also choose to equip this to one of my monsters to increase his attack to 2500, and since you attacked, Panther Warrior doesn't need a sacrifice to kill your spider. Panther Blade Slash!" With the chain still wrapped around the spider, Panther Warrior reeled it in and decapitated it.  
  
"I'll end my turn," Titan growled.  
  
Joey's turn-  
  
Joey drew his card and got excited, "I play Scapegoat, summoning four little sheep to my side of the field, and I'll sacrifice one for Panther Warrior to attack your Dark Elf."  
  
"Hold it," Magi said.  
  
"What is it?" Joey asked.  
  
"Forget about my Mask of Restrict?" Magi asked. " 'No matter what the situation, neither player can offer any monster as a tribute' I believe that counts for your Panther Warrior's effect."  
  
"Then I'll end my turn," Joey groaned.  
  
Magi's turn-  
  
Just then, Nightmare Wheel was still spinning that whole time and it was released from the bone contraption and it shot towards Yugi, hitting him directly for 500 life points.  
  
"I draw and I'll flip my face down card, Just Desserts to deal even more damage to you, since you have two monsters on the field, you lose 1000 life points and I'll also use my Wave-Motion Cannon to attack Joey's life points directly and its power grows by 1000 after each of my standby phases, and there have been 2, so It'll deal 2000 direct damage to you Joey," Magi said as the cannon powered up and fired a powerful blast, so powerful, it destroyed the cannon itself and the blast hit Joey from head to toe. "I'll end my turn."  
  
Magi: 8000  
  
Yugi: 6500  
  
Titan: 8000  
  
Joey: 6000  
  
"This is just the beginning of what we're gonna do to you!" Titan said.  
  
The two eliminators let out a great laugh at their advantage and were sure they were going to please Salazar... 


	16. Double Duel Part II

Yugi and Joey had accepted a duel between two of Salazar's eliminators, one using only magic and trap cards, another bringing out powerful monsters.  
  
"Don't give up!" Mai shouted. "You guys can wipe the floor with these fashion-challenged freaks!"  
  
Yugi and Joey nodded to Mai, and didn't care about their slight setback.  
  
Yugi's turn-  
  
Yugi drew his card and said, "I play Mystical Space Typhoon, destroying Mask of Restrict," it was so, a powerful gust of wind blew away the horned mask and it was gone. "That's not all, I'll sacrifice Beta the Magnet Warrior to bring out the Summoned Skull (2500/1200)!" As the Magnet Warrior vanished, so did the Nightmare Wheel and a skeleton demon replaced Beta and it let out a roar. "Now Summoned Skull, attack Magi's life points directly, Lightning Strike!" As Summoned Skull gathered electricity, it fired a blast directly at Magi, but Magi flipped his face down card.  
  
"I activate Enchanted Javelin, which will heal me from one of your attacking monsters and I gain life points equal to one of my opponent's attacking monsters, so your attack is cancelled out." Magi said as the Javelin appeared, glowed white and turned into pure energy going within the blue robed duelist.  
  
"But I'll also attack with my Dark Magician Girl, attack!" Yugi said and his female spellcaster fired a purple blast directly at Magi...  
  
"Block it Dark Elf!" Titan shouted and his elf blocked the blast by creating a black arrow out of her energy and shot it at Dark Magician Girl. Both the female duel monsters were hit their attacks, and they were both destroyed.  
  
Magi nodded to Titan approvingly and vice versa.  
  
"Then I end my turn," Yugi said.  
  
Titan's turn-  
  
Titan drew his card and had a twisted grin on his face, "I play Gagagigo (1850/1000) and I'll also play Mask of Brutality on him making his attack and defense rise to 2850/2000," as the reptilian warrior appeared, a mask with a fanged smile and claws covering the eyes appeared on him. "Now Gagagigo, attack Panther Warrior, with Claws of Brutality!" The masked monster charged at Joey's cat warrior and slashed a lethal slash across his chest, making it leave the field. "And I'll end my turn."  
  
Joey: 5650  
  
Joey's turn-  
  
Joey drew his card and smirked, "I play Monster Reborn, reviving my Panther Warrior and I'll sacrifice him to bring out Luster Dragon (2400/1400) and I'll lay one card face down, ending my turn." Joey's emerald green dragon appeared and behind it was a face down card and behind that was Joey's smug look.  
  
Magi's turn-  
  
Magi drew his card and said, "I play another Wave-Motion Cannon, one card face down, and I'll flip my face down card, another Just Desserts on you, Joey and you have five monsters out, that dragon and your four scapegoats so you lose 2500 life points." As the same cannon reappeared, the face down card flipped face up and a see-through hand gripped Joey and he lost almost half of the life points he had.  
  
Joey: 3150  
  
'They must be trying to take Joey out first, then go for me,' Yugi thought. 'I can't let him down, I have to help him. But with Titan's Gagagigo out, he's stronger than my Summoned Skull and can defend both of their life points. Wait, this is like Lumis and Umbra, When Kaiba and I dueled them, Kaiba got them to turn against each other, and maybe Joey and I can do that too.'  
  
Yugi's turn-  
  
Yugi drew his card and said, "I play Card Destruction, making us all each draw a new hand." They all did so and there were murmurs among the other three duelists. "And now, I play one card face down in defense mode, ending my turn."  
  
Titan's turn-  
  
Titan drew his card and laughed, "First, I lose 1000 life points for having Mask of Brutality still out and I play The Fiend Megacyber (2200/1200), and because you have more than two monsters than me, he requires no sacrifices. Now, Gagagigo, attack Summoned Skull, wipe it out, Claws of Brutality!" As the masked reptile charged at Yugi's monster, Joey flipped his face down card.  
  
"Activate Skull Dice!" Joey said as an imp appeared holding a red die and let it roll on the ground and it landed on a six. "Yes, that means your masked lizard loses 600 Attack and Defense points, making its attack only 2250, weaker than Yuge's Summoned Skull."  
  
It was true, as Gagagigo was about to strike Summoned Skull, the skeleton demon countered fired a blast of electricity, frying the monster to a crisp.  
  
Magi: 8000  
  
Yugi: 6500  
  
Titan: 6750  
  
Joey: 3150  
  
"Nice work Joey," Yugi said to him.  
  
"Heh, thanks Yuge," Joey said modestly.  
  
Titan growled and said, "Then I'll have Megacyber attack one of your Scapegoats." The large warrior hurled its massive fist crushed one of the little goats. "And I'll end my turn."  
  
Joey's turn-  
  
"I play one card face down face down and I'll have Luster Dragon attack your Megacyber, Emerald Blaze!" Joey said as his green dragon unleashed a sea of green flames to the monster, but before it could hit, it was all sucked into a dimensional-like object.  
  
"What happened?" Joey said.  
  
"I activated my trap card, Negate Attack stopping your monster from attacking and ending your battle phase," Magi said.  
  
"Then I'll end my turn," Joey groaned.  
  
Magi's turn-  
  
Magi drew his card and he unleashed a smirk, "I play Raigeki, destroying all of Joey's monsters." Thunderclouds formed from above Joey's part of the arena and lightning struck down all of his monsters, destroying them all. "And I'll end my turn."  
  
'Hey,' Joey thought. 'Magi's all out of cards, none in his hands or on the field, he must be expectin' Titan to block for him...'  
  
Yugi's turn-  
  
'It's time to see how loyal these two are to each other,' Yugi thought as he drew his card, looked at his opponent's field, seeing only The Fiend Megacyber out and knew what to do, "I'll sacrifice my face down monster to bring out the Dark Magician (2500/2100) and I'll have both of my monsters to attack Magi's life points directly!" As Dark Magician and Summoned Skull fired their attacks, Magi looked over to Titan but what he expected, didn't happen, he got hit with both of the blasts and lost 5000 life points.  
  
Magi: 3000  
  
"What the Hell was that?!" Magi shouted to Titan.  
  
"You're still alive aren't you?" Titan asked.  
  
"Barely!" he shouted back.  
  
"Hey I got a strategy going here, if Megacyber was destroyed, it wouldn't work."  
  
"Right, like an idiot like you could make an actual strategy."  
  
"Shut up and watch my strategy."  
  
Titan's turn-  
  
Titan drew his card and said, "I play Monster Reborn reviving my Grand Tiki Elder (1500/800) that you used Card Destruction on, Yugi. And I'll sacrifice both my monsters to bring out Masked Beast Des Guardius (3300/2500). And now Des Guardius, attack Joey's life points, wipe him out of the duel!" As the monster went to strike Joey down, Yugi intervened.  
  
"Block it, Summoned Skull!" Yugi shouted and his monster took the attack and was ripped to the shreds.  
  
Yugi: 5700  
  
"Thanks Yuge," Joey said, "You saved my butt right there."  
  
Yugi smiled at Joey then turned his attention back to the two eliminators.  
  
"That will end my turn," Yugi said.  
  
Joey's turn-  
  
Joey didn't have anything in his hand to help him now, he needed a good card to draw. It succeeded. "OH YEEEEAAAHHH!! I play Flame Swordsman (1800/1600) in attack mode and that's not all, I play Polymerization, fusing my Flame Swordsman with Yugi's Dark Magician!"  
  
"Good move Joey!" Yugi said.  
  
"And together they make, the Dark Flare Knight (2200/800)!" Yugi and Joey said in unison.  
  
"That'll end my turn," Joey said.  
  
Magi's turn-  
  
'They have the Dark Flare Knight out,' Magi thought. 'They'll attack me and I'll be defenseless unless I draw something good.'  
  
Magi drew his card and laughed, "I play Snatch Steal, and I'll take control of Des Guardius!"  
  
"Magi you rat!" shouted Titan.  
  
"It says I can take control of an 'opponent's' monster, and now our alliance is over! My opponent," Magi said.  
  
Titan was more pissed than ever and he threw his card over to Magi and Magi placed it on the field in attack mode.  
  
"And now, I'll attack your life points directly, Titan!" Magi said.  
  
Yugi and Joey were both surprised to see Magi attacking his partner and Des Guardius ripped its claws on Titan.  
  
"And I'll end my turn playing one card face down," Magi said laughing in sure of his victory.  
  
Titan: 3450  
  
Yugi's turn-  
  
"Magi, that's lowest thing to do," Joey said. "Attacking your teammate!"  
  
"Weren't you listening?" Magi asked. "This guy's no longer my teammate, he's my opponent like you two."  
  
"Well you're about to get what's coming to you," Yugi said, drawing his card. "I play Heavy Storm, removing everyone's magic and trap cards on the field." As a huge wind blew, all the cards on the field were removed and Des Guardius was now back on Titan's side of the field.  
  
"And I'll end my turn." Yugi said.  
  
Titan's turn-  
  
Titan drew his card and said, "I first play Tremendous Fire, dealing 1000 damage to you Magi and 500 to me and I'll have Des Guardius attack you directly. Des Guardius wipe that rat off the field." The Masked Beast ripped its claws through Magi and his life points were reduced to zero.  
  
Titan: 2450  
  
Magi: 0  
  
"And I'll end my turn playing Megamorph, doubling Des Guardius' attack to 6600, the next turn will be the last." Titan said as his monster grew double in its size and was now enormous.  
  
Joey's turn-  
  
Joey and Yugi looked at each other and nodded, "I first play Giant Trunade sending your Megamorph back to your hand and I'll have Dark Flare Knight attack Des Guardius, go!" As the giant sized Masked Beast shrunk, Yugi and Joey's Knight attacked the monster and fell in battle. But it didn't die in vain, when the Dark Flare Knight fell, a scythe-wielding knight in green armor replaced him.  
  
"When Dark Flare Knight dies, the Mirage Knight replaces him," Joey said. "Yuge you do the honors."  
  
Yugi's turn-  
  
Yugi didn't draw his card, he just said, "Attack Mirage Knight, Mirage Scythe Slash!" The two monsters clashed, but because of Mirage Knight's ability, he'd win no matter what. "From Mirage Knight's effect, his attack is raised by your monster's original attack so his attack goes up to 6100." The green armored knight beheaded Des Guardius and depleted all of Titan's remaining life points.  
  
Magi: 0  
  
Yugi: 5700  
  
Titan: 0  
  
Joey: 3150  
  
Titan gave Joey seven star chips, and Magi reluctantly gave Yugi six.  
  
Both the eliminators knew they'd be in trouble so as soon as they gave their star chips to Yugi and Joey, they quickly left.  
  
~Salazar's Castle, 2:17 PM~  
  
Salazar knew about Magi and Titan's defeat but he was too busy to deal with them. Weevil's empty body was sitting in a chair lifelessly and around his neck hung a golden ring with several pointers hanging from the ring. Then, he grabbed the Millennium Puzzle and threw it hard to the ground shattering it to pieces. Among the pieces, he grabbed one that seemed to stand out to him. He placed the piece right on the eye of the golden ring and suddenly, the rings pointers on the ring moved around madly then, a blinding light came from the ring. Then, Weevil's body awoke.  
  
Salazar dropped the piece of the puzzle among the others and said, "Welcome Spirit of the Millennium Ring."  
  
"What?" said a voice that sounded nowhere near to Weevil's shrill voice, it was deep and had a rusty sound to it. "How am I here?"  
  
"I brought you here," Salazar said.  
  
"From where?" the Spirit asked.  
  
"Your containment in the puzzle," Salazar said.  
  
"The Puzzle," Weevil's body looked down and saw pieces of the Millennium Puzzle and the voice said. "Ah yes that hell of a containment. Two years I have been in there."  
  
"I have a proposition for you," Salazar said.  
  
"And what would that be?" the spirit asked.  
  
"In the Shadow Realm, I have found your original host's body."  
  
"Have you?"  
  
"Indeed. However, your spirit there has died out and all that is left is the body and the soul of it as well."  
  
"So Bakura's tougher than I thought."  
  
"Well I'm sure that the vessel you're currently in won't do at all, but I shall give you body, but at a price."  
  
"And that would be?"  
  
"The Millennium Eye, you took it from Pegasus and I know you still have it, give me the eye and you'll get your body. And don't try to pull anything, you only put a small portion of yourself into that puzzle piece and it will be a while until your powers are as good as they were before."  
  
"I might have the Millennium Eye, but I need to get to the Shadow Realm, and my powers aren't yet strong enough to get there myself."  
  
"I figured as much," Salazar said pulling out the Millennium Rod.  
  
The body of Weevil's body opened wide at the sight of that and the Spirit of the Ring remembered when Yami Marik used the Egyptian God Card, Ra and it unleashed its ocean of golden flames which sealed him into eternal darkness, until now.  
  
"I'll send you to the Shadow Realm and then you can find your old vessel," Salazar said.  
  
"Right," the Spirit said and the body of Weevil stood up.  
  
Then Salazar aimed the Millennium Rod at the body of Weevil and a blinding light was unleashed and when the light faded, Weevil's body was nowhere to be found.  
  
The Spirit of the Ring had arrived to a place of eternal darkness and a purple fog could be seen low to the ground.  
  
"Well it's not like I haven't been here before," the Spirit of the Ring said to himself. "Now to find Bakura." The body of Weevil then walked off deeper into darkness looking for his lighter half...  
  
NOTE: I know several rules were broken like Flame Swordsman, but in the anime, it was always played like a non-fusion and I think it should've been a normal monster as well it's pretty pointless for it to be a Fusion monster.  
  
Also in the Team Duel, I think some rules can be surpassed like you can even attack your partner's life points (If you don't like that, let's just say Salazar forgot to add the rule not to attack your partner). 


	17. The End of the Beginning

As the Spirit of the Ring traveled to the Shadow Realm, he found meandering souls and bodies without souls, but not the one he was looking for.  
  
'There are more vessels here than I was last here,' the Spirit of the Ring said.  
  
As he looked closely at three of the bodies he recognized him from somewhere.  
  
'It's that zombie duelist and his idiot accomplices,' he thought. 'So I guess their bodies still hang around here.'  
  
He pressed on finding some duelists, men in black suits and dark glasses, and regular civilians. All of them were soulless.  
  
~Meanwhile, at Salazar's Castle, 3:00 PM~  
  
Salazar was still at his desk and he noticed on a monitor that the finalists have begun to arrive already. More than he had expected. Twenty five finalists were standing in the main hall of Salazar's castle and not one of them was Seto Kaiba or Yugi Muto.  
  
"Well," Salazar said rubbing his head. "This is what I get for making this tournament global. Two more hours left for even more to come. The eliminators failed... and worst of all, twenty five nobodies are to show for the finalists..."  
  
Then Salazar got something to cheer him up. One of his monitors showed that Seto Kaiba's dated was updated and he had all the fifteen star chips needed. But he was taking his time getting to the castle, walking at a slow pace.  
  
"It's about time," Salazar said, "As long as he gets here before five, it's good."  
  
Then, he pressed a button and the monitor switched to the hooded eliminator Nightmare.  
  
"Nightmare," Salazar said to him.  
  
"Yes Master Salazar?" he asked.  
  
"You realize you're the only eliminator left," he said. "Meaning everyone else has failed. I simply cannot have that. You have one last mission."  
  
"And what would it be?" Nightmare asked.  
  
"Guard the stairs, the only way up to the castle. Do not let anymore 'finalists' through, without a duel," he said. "Oh and Croquet will give you a bag, when you see Mr. Muto, pull it out, he'll know what it is.  
  
"Yes Master," the final eliminator said letting out a slight laugh and the monitor turned off.  
  
Then, Salazar walked over to a cabinet leaving the Millennium Rod on his desk. He opened up the cabinet taking a bottle of Tequila out and a shot- glass filled it up and drank it down...  
  
~Meanwhile back in the Shadow Realm~  
  
The body of Weevil being controlled by the Spirit of the Ring continued his search and finally found the body of Ryou Bakura, lying on the ground. He was in the same clothes he had from the Battle City finals. His white and blue striped shirt now had several holes in it, his green short-sleeved jacket was a bit tattered, and his pants had one rip revealing his left knee. Also, the bandage that covered his wound was gone and what was left was a scar.  
  
"Bakura," the Spirit of the Ring said.  
  
"Who, who are you?" Bakura said looking up at Weevil's body and noticed the Millennium Ring. ""My Millennium Ring..."  
  
"OUR Millennium Ring," he said.  
  
"Ours?" Bakura asked. "What do you mean?"  
  
"I don't blame you for forgetting," he said. "You've been in solitude for two years, and for what? My own selfish gains."  
  
Bakura still looked dumbfounded.  
  
"You didn't deserve this," the Spirit said. "It was that other spirit. In the Millennium Rod. He toyed with both of us, and now he has a new body to leech off of."  
  
Bakura stood up, his once gentle face was now replaced by an angry one, "Yes, I was having dreams duel. I saw a person who looked like me dueling a lot. But in one dream the duelist that looked like me was defeated by some gold dragon and when I awoke from that dream, I was here."  
  
"Those weren't dreams. They were very real. That person was me. I could care less about obtaining the other Millennium Items right now. I want revenge and I'm sure you do as well."  
  
Bakura nodded, he looked a lot like his dark counterpart now, "That Rod ruined my life. Everyone probably thinks I'm dead."  
  
"Take the Millennium Ring, Bakura," the Spirit said. "Together, we shall both send that spirit to Hell."  
  
Bakura walked over to the body of Weevil, placed his hand on the golden ring, remembering when he first got it. He then removed it from Weevil's body and he fell over lifeless. Then he placed it around his neck and felt something in him again.  
  
Yami Bakura returned and he pulled out of his pocket, the Millennium Eye.  
  
"You want this, do you Salazar?" Yami Bakura said to himself. "Well don't get too attached."  
  
Then, the Millennium Ring flashed brightly and Bakura was no longer in the Shadow Realm. He was now back in Salazar's office again.  
  
"Hello again," Yami Bakura said.  
  
Salazar had his head face down on the desk, and looked up when he heard a familiar voice.  
  
"Well I have my old vessel back," Yami Bakura said tossing the Millennium Eye over to Salazar. "There's my end of the deal."  
  
As Bakura was about to leave, Salazar said to him, "Hang on a minute, perhaps I could make a proposition for you."  
  
"Go on," Bakura said.  
  
"Employment among my Eliminators hasn't gone too well," Salazar said. "Duel for me and I'll give you two Millennium Items. One now and one later."  
  
Skeptically Yami Bakura said to him, "You lie. How could you have other Millennium Items?"  
  
Salazar pulled out a drawer on his desk and pulled it out, "I believe the previous owner called it the Millennium Scale."  
  
Yami Bakura gasped and the points on his Millennium Ring pointed toward it. Yami Bakura gasped, "How did you get this!?"  
  
"I have my ways," Salazar said. "So do you except?"  
  
Yami Bakura thought for a moment then said, "Yes." And Salazar handed him the Millennium Scale.  
  
"At nightfall, I'll need you to pay a visit to some of my finalists," Salazar said. "Interrogate them."  
  
Yami Bakura didn't fully understand but he nodded and left Salazar's office.  
  
'Well I'm back in power again,' Salazar thought. 'Three's better than nothing, I suppose.'  
  
~Meanwhile~  
  
Yugi, Joey and Mai couldn't seem to find any more duelists. It had seemed they were all defeated, or they didn't have enough star chips.  
  
"Unbelievable," Mai said. "An hour ago, this placed was infested with low ranked duelists."  
  
"Don't worry Yuge," Joey said to him. "You're going to be in the finals, I just know it."  
  
However a flash of light got there hopes and they ran towards where they hoped to find a duel in progress.  
  
"What the..." Mai said after looking at an enormous monster. "I've seen that monster before."  
  
"Yugi isn't that..." Joey said.  
  
"It's Osiris!" Yugi said.  
  
There was a duel in progress alright. Three duelists were dueling against a black robed man, but they were doing horribly. The black robed man only had one monster out, the Egyptian God Card, Saint Dragon God Osiris. The other three duelists had no monsters out, they were probably all destroyed. The black robed man held six cards in his hand making Osiris 6000/6000.  
  
"That isn't fair!" one of the duelists shouted. "That card wiped out my monster before I could use my combo."  
  
"Osiris won't allow weaklings to be in the duel as long as he's around," the black robed man said.  
  
"I'll end my turn playing one card face down ending my turn," he grumbled.  
  
"Well it's my turn now and I won't allow HIM to be around now," another duelist said drawing his card. "I play Raigeki!"  
  
Storm clouds gathered above the Egyptian God and lightning struck him, but it did nothing to the card.  
  
"What the!?" the duelist shouted. "How can that be?!"  
  
"Weren't you listening?" The black robed man asked. "I told you that Egyptian Gods are immune to magic cards like Raigeki."  
  
"I don't accept that!" the duelist spat. "I play Tribute to the Doomed! By discarding one card from my hand, your big red dragon is going to be under wraps!"  
  
As bandages ensnared Osiris completely, a huge claw rose out to take him to world of the dead. But as big as the claw was, Osiris was way bigger and it only grabbed onto Osiris' tail. Just then, white light shot out of the bandages and they were destroyed, as well as the diminutive claw.  
  
"Now do you accept it?" the black robed man asked. "Or do you have some more magic cards?"  
  
"I play Dark Hole!" he said playing one of hid last cards in his hand as a hole of darkness was attempting to suck in Osiris, but to no avail.  
  
"Have you learned yet?" the black robed man asked.  
  
"Guess not," he answered back. "I play my last card, Swords of Revealing Light! Stopping your dragon from attacking any of us."  
  
"Now it's my turn," the black robed man said. "Osiris attack the center duelist! Summon Light Impact!"  
  
The Egyptian God's lower mouth fired its devastating attack, shooting right passed the futile swords and as it closed in on the duelist, he flipped his face down card, Mirror Force, the shield contained the blast. For about two seconds when it shattered hitting the duelist and wiped him out.  
  
The other two looked on at their fallen comrade and they played whatever card they could but they were all defeated.  
  
"You three said you could take on any strategy possible," the black robed man said as the Egyptian God Card vanished from the field. "Some finalists you would've been."  
  
The three defeated duelists walked away leaving their star chips at the black robed man's feet and there were hundreds already there.  
  
"Nightmare!" Yugi shouted as he revealed himself. "It's payback time. I challenge you to a duel!"  
  
"Yugi Muto," Nightmare said as he sounded like he was being controlled again. "You didn't learn the first time, huh? Well I accept your challenge."  
  
Nightmare pulled out a small light brown bag and dropped it, "This holds your Millennium Puzzle, what's left of it anyways. If you want your Puzzle back, you have to bet your Millennium Tauk. If you want your Egyptian God card back, you have to bet your deck. And if you want the remaining star chips needed for you to enter the finals, you have to bet your soul!"  
  
"I accept the terms," Yugi said shuffling his deck and placing it back in his Duel Disk.  
  
"Let's Duel!" both of them said and their life points went up to 8000... 


	18. Payback Part I

Yugi and Nightmare began their duel as they both drew their first five cards from their duel disks.  
  
"I'll start," Yugi said drawing his first card. "I play Breaker the Magical Warrior (1600/1000) and when he's normal summoned, he gets a magic counter that raises his attack to 1900." His red-armored magic warrior appeared wielding a sword and shield.  
  
Nightmare's Turn-  
  
"Yugi," Nightmare began. "I'm sure I could beat you with only 4000 life points. So I'll play halfway until then."  
  
"Don't be so sure of yourself," Yugi said. "For the sake of my puzzle, I won't lose!"  
  
Nightmare drew his card and told Yugi in his controlled voice, "I play Muka- Muka (600/300) in attack mode." As the small rock-like creature appeared, it suddenly grew to a great size. "And for every card in my hand, his attack and defense grow by 300 making him 2100/1800. Think of him as a weaker Osiris. Muka-Muka, attack Breaker the Magical Warrior, Pincer Crush!" His monster raised his enlarged claw at the spellcaster and crushed him with the blow. "That will end my turn."  
  
Yugi: 7800  
  
Nightmare: 8000  
  
Yugi's turn-  
  
Yugi drew his card and looked relieved, "I play Card Destruction, making us draw a new hand." Nightmare and Yugi each discarded their five cards and drew five new ones. "I also play Brain Control, taking control of your Muka- Muka." A huge brain appeared on the field and sent out translucent waves towards the rock creature's head and suddenly, it walked towards Yugi defending him. But as it did, it shrunk a little.  
  
"A lot of good that does," Nightmare said. "You have four cards in your hands so Muka-Muka becomes an 1800 attacker."  
  
"I'm well aware of that," Yugi said about to play another card. "I'll sacrifice it to bring out Dark Magician (2500/2100)," as the rock creature vanished, Yugi's favorite spellcaster appeared. "Dark Magician, attack Nightmare's life points directly, Dark Magic Attack!" The purple armored magician pointed directly at the black robed eliminator and fired a black bolt of magic of direct damage to Nightmare.  
  
Yugi: 7800  
  
Nightmare: 5500  
  
"That's the way!" Joey cheered on. "A direct hit!"  
  
Mai however was thinking differently, 'I don't know Joey. Nightmare didn't look upset at all. Maybe he was serious about that 4000 life points.'  
  
"And I'll play one card face down to end my turn," Yugi said and the face down card appeared behind Dark Magician.  
  
Nightmare's turn-  
  
Nightmare drew his card and said, "I play one card face down and I play Opticlops (1800/1700) in attack mode, and I'll equip him with Axe of Despair increasing his attack to 2800." As the one-eyed monster appeared, an axe appeared in his right hand. "Attack Opticlops, behead the Dark Magician!"  
  
Opticlops charged forward and swung his axe in a horizontal arc towards the Dark Magician's neck. But before it could connect, a bright light shot out and it was so powerful, it vaporized the axe-wielding Opticlops.  
  
"That would be Mirror Force," Yugi said flipping his face down card. "Destroying your Opticlops."  
  
"Your turn," Nightmare said, sounding pretty sure of himself.  
  
Yugi's turn-  
  
Yugi wasn't strategizing. He was filled with anger only wanting to take Nightmare down.  
  
"I draw and I'll play Neo the Magic Swordsman (1700/1000) in attack mode," Yugi said as his magic warrior appeared beside Dark Magician. "With Dark Magician, I'll attack your face down card, Dark Magic Attack!" The purple armored magician raised his left palm and emitted a wave of energy turning colors negative that passed by it. It revealed the face down card, Newdoria.  
  
"Not Newdoria!" Yugi said.  
  
"Yes it is," Nightmare said. "And as he falls, he takes Neo the Magic Swordsman with him."  
  
It was done. As Newdoria sunk into the ground, he grabbed Neo by his leg and they were both sent to the graveyard.  
  
"Then I'll end my turn," Yugi said.  
  
Nightmare's turn-  
  
"Here's what's going to hurt," Nightmare said drawing his card. "I play Soul Release, removing up to five cards from the current duel and I'll remove Breaker the Magical Warrior, Card Destruction, Mirror Force, Neo the Magic Swordsman and Dark Magician Girl."  
  
Yugi took those cards out of his graveyards and placed them into a side slot, out of the current duel.  
  
"And I'll put one card face down in defense mode, ending my turn." Nightmare said.  
  
Yugi's turn-  
  
"I don't care what cards you play Salazar," Yugi said drawing his card. "I WILL get my puzzle back. First I play Gamma the Magnet Warrior (1500/1800) in attack mode. First, I'll attack your face down card with Dark Magician. Dark Magic Attack!" His spellcaster fired another black blast of energy at the card, revealing to be Wall of Illusion.  
  
"Thanks for attacking," Nightmare said as his wall monster went to the graveyard, Dark Magician vanished from the field. "When attacking Wall of Illusion, that monster gets sent back to your hand."  
  
Yugi returned his favorite card back to his hand and said, "Now Gamma, attack his life points directly!" The winged magnet warrior flew up and crashed right into Nightmare and flew back to Yugi's side of the field. "That will end my turn."  
  
Yugi: 7800  
  
Nightmare: 4000  
  
Nightmare's turn-  
  
"As promised," Nightmare's said in his controlled voice while drawing his card. "Once I lose more than half of my life points, I'll get serious. Prepare yourself. First, I play three cards face down and one card face down in defense mode. Attack it if you have the courage. Or was it the Millennium Puzzle that had all the courage?"  
  
Yugi's turn-  
  
"I'll show you!" Yugi said quickly drew his card. "I'll sacrifice Gamma the Magnet Warrior and bring out Dark Magician!" As the winged magnet warrior vanished, the Dark Magician reappeared again. "Attack his face down card, Dark Magician Attack!" His monster fired another black bolt of magic towards the face down card, but as it was about to hit, an odd looking tree was flipped and right at the bottom of the tree emitted some strange orange light. As the Dark Magic Attack hit it, the orange light from Fiber Jar encased the entire battle field making Yugi's Dark Magician and Nightmare's face down cards vanished as well.  
  
"That was Fiber Jar," Nightmare's controlled voice said. "It makes us return all cards except for ones removed from the game back to our decks. Then we return those cards to our deck, reshuffle it, and draw five new cards. Basically restarting the duel."  
  
Both Yugi and the controlled eliminator took their hand, graveyard and the monsters on the field into their decks. They then shuffled their decks several times and placed them back in their Duel Disks.  
  
"Since I already attacked, I'll place two cards face down ending my turn," Yugi said and what appeared defending him were two face down cards.  
  
Nightmare's turn-  
  
Nightmare drew his sixth card then said, "I play Pot of Greed, and Graceful Charity," he drew five more cards and discarded two cards to the graveyard. "That's not all; I play four cards face down and I'll play one card face down in defense mode." Five cards appeared on his field protecting him. "Ending my turn."  
  
Yugi's turn-  
  
'I don't like what he might have face down,' Yugi thought. 'He must be biding his time until he draws Osiris.'  
  
Yugi drew his card and thought to himself, 'This could be useful.'  
  
"I play Skilled White Magician (1700/1900) in attack mode," Yugi said as the white-robed spellcaster appeared defending him. "I play Pigeonholding Books of Spell," Yugi placed the card in a slot on his Duel Disk and walked over to Nightmare. "This card allows me to see the top three cards in your deck and rearrange them how I want."  
  
Nightmare handed over his top three cards, not looking at them as he handed them over to Yugi.  
  
'Acid Trap Hole, Osiris!' Yugi thought as he gasped. 'And Riryoku.' Then Yugi put Riryoku first, then Acid Trap Hole and finally Osiris at the bottom.  
  
"I saw the look in your eyes," the Nightmare's controlled voice said. "You saw your old God card again didn't you? Besides I saw the back of the cards, did you know the Egyptian God cards have backs that match their color?"  
  
'So he knows,' Yugi thought. 'I have to think of something in three turns.'  
  
"I'm not finished," Yugi said as he walked back to his side of the field. "From my magic card, Skilled White Magician gets a spell counter when he gets three get ready to feel the pain. Now Skilled White Magician, attack his face down card with Entity of Light!" The white-robed spellcaster aimed his staff at the face down card and fired a white blast of magic resembling a sword-wielding warrior, destroying it, revealing to be Witch of the Black Forest.  
  
"Because of Witch of Black Forest's effect," Nightmare said taking a card out of his deck and putting it into his hand. "I get to place a monster of 1500 or less defense from my deck to my hand." After placing it into his hand, he reshuffled his deck.  
  
'Why would he do that?' Yugi thought. 'Osiris could have been brought out in only three more turns. Unless he's planning it to bring it out later when he has more cards and what about those three face down cards? Those need to be destroyed.'  
  
Nightmare's turn-  
  
Nightmare drew his card then said, "I play the Magic card Exchange." He then walked over to Yugi saying. "We each show each other our hands and take one card."  
  
Yugi showed his three cards: Skilled Dark Magician, Curse of Dragon, and Monster Reborn.  
  
Nightmare showed his three cards: Riryoku, Fairy Meteor Crush, Gadget Soldier and Sangan.  
  
"I'll take Monster Reborn," Nightmare said putting it in his hand.  
  
"And I'll take Riryoku," Yugi said putting it in his hand.  
  
"And I'll end my turn playing one card face down ending my turn," Nightmare said placing the card on his Duel Disk.  
  
Yugi's turn-  
  
"I draw and I play Skilled Dark Magician (1900/1700) in attack mode," beside Skilled White Magician appeared beside his dark counterpart. "Now I'll attack your face down card with Skilled White Magician, Entity of Lightness!" The white robed spellcaster fired a white blast of magic resembling a sword-wielding warrior at the face down card, revealing it to be the three-eyed fiend Sangan (1000/600) vaporizing it from the field.  
  
"Why thank you," Nightmare said pulling out a card in his deck, placed it in his hand and shuffled his deck back into the Duel Disk. "Now I get to select one monster with an attack power of 1500 or less from my deck to my hand."  
  
"That isn't all," Yugi said. "I'll now attack your life points directly with Skilled Dark Magician, Entity of Darkness!" The black robed spellcaster fired a black blast of magic resembling a staff-wielding magician at Nightmare.  
  
Yugi: 7800  
  
Nightmare: 2100  
  
"And I'll end my turn," Yugi said.  
  
"Man," Joey said. "Yugi's hardly been hit and he's ripping through Nightmare like an amateur."  
  
"I don't know Joey," Mai said. "Something tells me he wants Yugi to hit him hard. I'm suspicious on those three face down cards..."  
  
Joey looked over and said, "Hey Yeah. If those were trap cards wouldn't he have played them already?"  
  
Mai nodded as she and Joey looked on at the duel.  
  
Nightmare didn't look devastated from the blow he just took as he drew his card. "I play Swords of Revealing Light." Several bright swords shot down and they surrounded Yugi's monsters, preventing them from attacking. "Three turns and I'm sure that's all I'll need. That will end my turn."  
  
Yugi's turn-  
  
"Well because three magic cards were played while my Skilled White Magician was out, he has three magic counters." Yugi said drawing his card while taking out his deck, taking out a card and placing it on the field. "Well I'll offer the three magic counters and my Skilled White Magician to bring out Buster Blader (2600/2300)!"  
  
The white robed magician lifted up his staff and a beam of light shined down on him. The light got bright. So bright that no one could see the Skilled White Magician anymore and when the light faded, an armored warrior wielding a large sword fell from the sky and slammed into the ground unharmed.  
  
"Plus, he gets 500 more attack points for every dragon on your side of the field and in your graveyard," Yugi said. "And I'll also play the magic card, Magic Sanctuary." Behind Yugi, a large stone building arose from the ground and a large magic symbol illuminated high above the stone structure. "Its first effect is we both put one magic card from our deck to our hands," Yugi explained as he and Nightmare took out their decks, picked a magic card and placed it into their hands. Then they shuffled their decks and placed them back in their Duel Disks. "And its other effect is that we can play Magic cards during other player's turns and I'll end my turn."  
  
Nightmare's turn-  
  
"Two turns left now," Nightmare said referring to the Swords of Revealing Light while he drew his card. "I pass my turn."  
  
Yugi's turn-  
  
'He must be expecting to draw Osiris soon,' Yugi thought drawing his card. 'But with Riryoku, any of my monsters could overpower an Egyptian God card.'  
  
"I play Curse of Dragon (2000/1500) in attack mode," Yugi said as his yellow appeared and let out a screech. "And I'll end my turn."  
  
Nightmare's turn-  
  
"Now one turn left until Osiris will appear," Nightmare's predicted drawing his card. "I play Monster Reborn reviving Sangan (1000/600) from my graveyard and I'll play the Magic card Monster Recovery." Nightmare took out his deck from the Duel Disk, put his three cards and Sangan on top of his deck then shuffled it. He drew the top three cards as his new hand and at the top of his deck rested a card with a red back. "And I'll play the magic card, Delinquent Duo."  
  
Two imps appeared. The purple one had the number one on its forehead and the blue one had the number two on its head.  
  
"We both randomly discard one card from your hand," Nightmare said and directing his finger to one of his cards. "I choose for you to discard the card on your left."  
  
The purple imp created a blue blast of energy and shot it towards Yugi's left card, Celtic Guardian, sending it to the graveyard.  
  
"Now you have to randomly discard a card from your hand," Nightmare said.  
  
Yugi placed his only two cards face down and switched their positions several times. When he stopped, he picked up the card on his right and revealed it to the second imp.  
  
The blue imp created a purple blast of energy and shot it towards Yugi's card, Riryoku, sending it to Nightmare's graveyard.  
  
'Oh no,' Yugi thought. 'How will I be able to defeat an Egyptian God now?'  
  
"So much for your strategy," Nightmare's controlled voice said. "Looks like have to lose even faster."  
  
Yugi's turn-  
  
"Since you played another Magic card, that makes a total of three magic cards played while he was out. I can activate Skilled Dark Magician's effect, which is I'll offer those three magic counters and Skilled Dark Magician to special summon the Dark Magician (2500/2100).  
  
The Skilled Dark Magician lifted his staff and a sphere of darkness surrounded him. It was so dark the black robed spellcaster could no longer be seen. Then the sphere levitated up several feet. Then, the sphere shattered open and there was the Dark Magician. It lowered back down to the field beside Buster Blader.  
  
"I'm not finished," Yugi said. "I play my last card, Polymerization, fusing Dark Magician and Buster Blader to form the Dark Paladin (2900/2400)."  
  
The two monsters merged together and formed an even more powerful monster. It looked like the Dark Magician, but it had Buster Blader's armor and instead of a staff, the fused monster held a mighty sword.  
  
"His attack power rises to 3400 since there is one dragon on either of our fields and graveyards," Yugi added. "And I end my turn."  
  
Nightmare's turn-  
  
As his turn began, the Swords of Revealing Light vanished and Nightmare drew his card knowing exactly what it was, "Here it comes, prepare to lose everything, Muto. I first play Raigeki, destroying all your monsters."  
  
"I discard the only card from my hand to negate and destroy your magic card," Yugi said placing it in his graveyard slot.  
  
Thunder clouds gathered around Yugi's two monsters, a bolt of lightning shot down at them. But before they could hit, Dark Paladin shined gold and shielded the attack completely.  
  
"You fell for my trap," Nightmare said. "I play Heavy Storm, destroying all Magic and Trap cards on the field, including my own."  
  
A great gust of wind broke out and Yugi's Magic Sanctuary broke up, brick by brick. Also, Nightmare's face down cards were gone with the wind. But before they were destroyed, three identical looking monsters came from the cards and landed on the field.  
  
"What are those?" Yugi asked.  
  
"Those were my three face down cards," Nightmare said placing the trap cards on the field as if they were monsters. "When they're destroyed while being face down, I get to special summon a Wicked Token with 1000 attack and defense points. And there's three. Enough to summon an Egyptian God."  
  
"Oh no!" Yugi said realizing he was being played during this whole duel.  
  
"Nightmare's just been stalling to do this," Mai said. "He didn't care how many life points he lost."  
  
"How's Yugi gonna pull this off?" Joey asked.  
  
"Well it looks like I arrived just in time," a voice said behind Joey and Mai.  
  
They turned around and saw Seto Kaiba just arriving...  
  
~Meanwhile~  
  
Bakura was looking around the castle, unable to find anything. The Spirit of the Ring wasn't in control at the moment and the light side of Bakura was intrigued about the castle.  
  
"It looks much different than I was last here," Bakura said to himself. "Well it's been years since I've been anywhere..."  
  
Bakura sighed and wondered what his old friends were doing.  
  
'They were the best friends I ever had,' Bakura thought. 'I hope I can get to see them again.'  
  
'You will,' the Spirit of the Ring said to him telepathically.  
  
'What? What do you mean?' Bakura asked him.  
  
'They're contestants on the island. We will meet up with them soon.'  
  
Just then, the Millennium Ring began reacting wildly. The pointers were pointing down the hall. Bakura followed it and as he arrived down the hall, it pointed to right. Bakura continued following the Ring's pointers and when they stopped he saw someone he hadn't seen in a while.  
  
"Yugi!" Bakura exclaimed as he looked through a window and saw his other old friends at a distance down the stone stairs. "And Joey and Mai! They're here, too!"  
  
'That's not all,' the Spirit of the Ring thought looking at what Yugi was facing. 'Yugi seems to be in a heap of trouble at the moment, let's see him get out of this.'  
  
"But why did the ring react?" Bakura asked the Spirit of the Ring.  
  
'Well,' the Spirit of the Ring explained. 'Yugi possesses the Millennium Tauk. But I sense another Millennium Item present at the duel. We'll need to get a closer look.'  
  
"How?" Bakura asked. "Salazar told us not to leave the castle and the only exit is blocked by his guards."  
  
Just then, Bakura got an evil look on his face and said, "Then we'll make an exit!"  
  
Yami Bakura kicked the window, shattering the glass. He jumped out and slid down the steep ledge and when he arrived to the bottom he crouched down getting a close-up view of the duel on Nightmare's side. He looked down at the bag and sensed that it was the Millennium Puzzle.  
  
'So Yugi even got his Puzzle stolen,' Yami Bakura thought. 'I've never thought him to be so careless.'  
  
"Prepare yourself," Nightmare's controlled voice said. "I'll sacrifice all three of my Wicked Tokens to summon the Egyptian God Card, Saint Dragon God Osiris (X000/X000)!"  
  
Yami Bakura gasped when he heard this.  
  
'Yugi's God Card too?' Yami Bakura thought but then smirked, 'Let's see the boy get out of this all on his own. But something's not right. That duelist's voice sounds as if he's being controlled by Salazar, but I would've known if he was being controlled...'  
  
As Yami Bakura pondered, the long two-mouthed red dragon appeared and let out a loud roar at Yugi ready for his first attack...  
  
NOTE: As I said in a previous chapter, I'll be using some Japanese cards like Magic Sanctuary. Trust me, they are real cards and will be used in future episodes of the anime but they might have different names and their effects might be a little different. Please bare with me. 


	19. Payback Part II

'What do you mean?' Bakura asked his other-self. 'Don't controlled people have different voices? I remember when Yugi was dueling Bandit Keith, Keith's voice was different.'  
  
'That is true,' the Spirit of the Ring told him. 'However there are two reasons why this person couldn't be controlled. One is that I would've known if he was being controlled. And the second is that Salazar isn't in any condition to be controlling anyone. His breath reeked of alcohol. Probably nursing a hangover.'  
  
'Then how does his voice sound like that?' Bakura asked the Spirit.  
  
'I'm not really sure but we'll find out soon,' the Spirit of the Ring told him.  
  
Osiris roared at his former master and Nightmare laughed with great assurance.  
  
"You have no hope for survival now Muto," Nightmare's controlled voice said.  
  
"Oh yeah?" Joey said to Nightmare. "I remember this card's effect; it gets a thousand more attack points for every card in your hand. And I only see one. So this 'God' card's attack power is only 1000. So much for your strategy, Salazar."  
  
"So Wheeler, even you could learn a thing or two in two years," Kaiba remarked.  
  
"Don't push me Kaiba," Joey shot back, raising his fist.  
  
"Joey let's just watch the duel," Mai said.  
  
Joey simmered and ignored Kaiba watching his best friend duel.  
  
Yugi: 7800  
  
Nightmare: 2100  
  
"Your friend was only half right on my cards in hand," Nightmare told Yugi. "I may have only one card in my hand, but it will soon be five. I play the Magic card Life-Shortening Treasure. Its effect allows me to draw until my hand has a total of five cards, but 5 turns after it's been activated, I discard my entire hand. I'll have already won by then." Nightmare drew five cards and Osiris's power rose to 5000/5000. "And I'll end my turn placing one card face down, lowering Osiris to 4000/4000."  
  
Yugi's turn-  
  
'That face down card can't be good,' Yugi thought as he drew his card. 'If I want to win, I have to keep my cool. He's been getting me angry and not thinking. But this could win it for me.'  
  
"All right Salazar," Yugi said. "I play one card face down and I switch my two monsters to defense mode, ending my turn." Yugi's Dark Paladin kneeled down shielding itself with its sword and Curse of Dragon covered itself with its wings.  
  
"I thought so," Kaiba said. "It seems Yugi has gotten rusty over two years."  
  
"Shut up Kaiba," Joey said. "Yugi beat this card before and he can do it like last time."  
  
"True, but this eliminator's using a different strategy," Kaiba said. "When Yugi was dueling Marik for this card, he put him in an infinite loop until Marik was decked out. This can't be done here."  
  
Nightmare's turn-  
  
"I've got you on the run now," Nightmare said drawing his card. "Osiris is now at 5000/5000 again. And it's time I dealt some real damage to you. I flip my face down card, Solemn Wishes and I'll play Stop Defense switching your Curse of Dragon to attack mode and lowering Osiris to 4000 again, still enough to kill it. Attack Osiris, Thunder Force!"  
  
Osiris gathered a blinding white energy in his lower mouth and fired it at the much smaller dragon, atomizing it.  
  
"One down and one to go," the controlled Nightmare said and he began laughing.  
  
Yugi: 5800  
  
Nightmare: 2100  
  
Yugi's turn-  
  
'Trap cards won't work on a God card and any other will just be destroyed as soon as I summon it. This is for you Yami,' Yugi thought and remembered the Heart of the Cards then he drew his card.  
  
"I play the Magic card, Pot of Greed allowing me to draw two more cards," as Yugi played the magic card and drew the additional two cards. Suddenly his face went from worried to confident as he said, "I won."  
  
"What?" Nightmare asked. "You've snapped haven't you?"  
  
"Hardly," Yugi said. "These two cards will severely weaken Osiris enough to wipe out your life points. I first play Double Spell and by discarding my other magic card De-Fusion, I get to activate one of your magic cards in your graveyard. I choose Riryoku."  
  
"Too bad magic cards don't affect Egyptian God cards," Nightmare said as half of his Egyptian God card's energy went to Yugi's Dark Paladin. "What? How can that be!?"  
  
"Obviously you don't know that much about Egyptian God cards," Yugi said. "There are some Magic cards that can work on Egyptian Gods. Riryoku is one of those cards. And I'm not finished, I activate my face down card, Lightforce Sword removing one if the cards from your hand from the duel for four turns."  
  
A sword appeared by Yugi and it shot towards Nightmare's hand and he placed the card in a compartment reducing his Egyptian God to only 1000 attack points.  
  
"I now switch my Dark Paladin to attack mode," Yugi said switching it from sideways to the vertical position. "By the way, from Curse of Dragon, his attack power rises to 3400 and from Riryoku; it goes even further to 5400. This duel is over. Attack Dark Paladin, Dragon Saber Strike!" Yugi's Dark Paladin focused his energy into his blade and a dragon coiled around the blade. Then armored spellcaster ran up and drove his blade into the Egyptian God's neck and dropped down making a lethal cut.  
  
The dragon god roared out in pain as it vanished from the field and relieving Nightmare of his life points.  
  
Yugi: 5800  
  
Nightmare: 0  
  
"No. This can't be happening," Nightmare said still in his controlled voice as he fell to his knees, hyperventilating.  
  
"Okay," Yugi said walking over to the defeated eliminator. "Since I won, I get back my puzzle, my God card, and three star chips."  
  
Nightmare suddenly stood up, turned around and ran up the stone stairs to try and get away. He ran so fast, his hood flew off revealing his short brown hair and something was tied in a knot behind his head.  
  
"Hey, get back here!" Yugi shouted as he picked up the bag holding his broken Millennium Puzzle and three star chips from the pile of hundreds of star chips and chased after the eliminator.  
  
As Joey and Mai were about to join Yugi in chasing him, another person came sprinting passed them and quickly up the stairs.  
  
"Who was that?" Mai asked watching the person run quickly up the stairs.  
  
Joey didn't answer her as he already began running up the stairs after Nightmare. Mai sighed and followed after.  
  
Nightmare had almost made it to the top and Yugi was nowhere near to catch up with him. But the swift moving person surpassed even Yugi and closed in on Nightmare.  
  
Nightmare had made it to the top but the fast runner was only four steps behind him. The fast runner leaned forward and grabbed one of Nightmare's ankles making him fall face forward.  
  
Yugi caught up with the two and got a look at both of them from their backs. The fast running person was wearing a green jacket, blue jeans, and natural red spiky hair that went up and down.  
  
"Ryan Stone," Yugi said quickly figuring it out.  
  
"Yeah, yeah," Ryan answered and showed Yugi Nightmare's face that had a huge mouthpiece covering not only his mouth but his nose as well. "And look who's here?"  
  
Yugi saw through the mask and gasped, "Michael?"  
  
Michael shoved Ryan off of him and stood up.  
  
"You were controlled by Salazar?" Yugi asked.  
  
"Please," Michael said in a controlled voice. He then untied the mouthpiece and spoke in his normal voice. "Yugi you truly are naïve aren't you?"  
  
Joey and Mai had arrived to the top of the stairs and were equally shocked as Yugi.  
  
"What?" Yugi said in confusion.  
  
"Salazar was willing to pay me five million bucks to act like your friend and steal your Egyptian God Card," Michael told him without remorse.  
  
Yugi then remembered when he slept in Michael's extra room and when his deck was knocked over.  
  
"You were the one that placed that phony Osiris in my deck?" Yugi asked.  
  
"That's right," Michael answered.  
  
"You BASTARD!" Joey shouted and threw a punch right into Michael's face.  
  
Michael parried the blow by grabbing Joey's wrist and as he was about to punch Joey in his gut, Ryan punched Michael in his face making him release Joey.  
  
"That's it," Joey said activating his Duel Disk. "I'm dueling you right here and now."  
  
"No let me," Ryan said. "You've already got a full dueling glove; I need five more star chips to qualify."  
  
"Technically," Michael said. "I'm both a duelist and an eliminator and as a duelist, I only need five star chips as well. It's 4:30 about now, do you think I can beat you in a half hour?"  
  
"I was going to ask you the same question," Ryan said activating his Duel Disk and walked to one side of the summit.  
  
"I beat you once, I'll beat you again," Michael said removing black robe revealing his normal clothes of a black long-sleeved shirt and blue trousers. He removed his deck out of his Duel Disk and placed another deck into the Duel Disk and activated it.  
  
Yugi, Joey and Mai stayed in the center of the platform ready to watch a good duel.  
  
Kaiba arrived to the top and saw the two world duelists staring at each other, "So they're going to duel? I'll beat the winner in the finals and claim my title again."  
  
"30 minutes?" Michael scoffed. "I could beat you in five."  
  
"We'll see," Ryan said.  
  
"Let's duel!" the two rivals said as their life points rose to 8000 and they both drew their first five cards. 


	20. Grudge Match: Ryan VS Michael Part I

Ryan Stone's hazel eyes were filled with a fire of determination as they stared towards his archrival Michael Laskow.  
  
"I'll start," Ryan said drawing his card. "I play Thunder Nyan Nyan (1900/900) in attack mode." Ryan said as the female electric drummer appeared on his side of the field playing a tune. "And I'll put two cards face down ending my turn."  
  
Michael's turn-  
  
"A typical opening move," Michael said drawing his card. "I play D.D. Crazy Beast (1400/1400) in attack mode." As he placed the card on the center monster slot, a dimension opened up and the upper body of an odd-looking red monster appeared with numerous fangs protruding from its mouth. It let out a roar towards Ryan and his thunder monster. "And I'll equip him with Horn of the Unicorn raising its attack and defense to 2100/2100. Attack D.D. Crazy Beast, Different-Dimension Thunder!" As the large horn appeared on the monster's forehead, it fired a bolt of electricity but as it hit Ryan's drum-playing monster, instead of scorching it, it collapsed in on itself and vanished from the field, with a few sparks hitting Ryan.  
  
"Any monster destroyed by my D.D. Crazy Beast is removed from the duel rather than the graveyard," Michael said.  
  
Ryan: 7800  
  
Michael: 8000  
  
Ryan groaned and he placed his monster card in a compartment not to see it for the rest of the duel.  
  
"And I'll end my turn placing one card face down, ending my turn," Michael said as the card appeared behind his Crazy Beast.  
  
Ryan's turn-  
  
As Ryan drew his card, Michael activated his trap card.  
  
"I activate my Trap card Drop Off," Michael said. "The card you just drew is automatically sent to the graveyard."  
  
Ryan sighed as he discarded his card Creature Swap and sent it to his graveyard.  
  
"Well I play Cyber Raider (1400/1000) in attack mode and as soon as he's summoned, I'll use his effect and take control of another equip card on the field."  
  
As the robotic warrior appeared on the field, D.D. Crazy Beast's horn vanished and reappeared on Cyber Raider.  
  
"That raises his stats to 2100/1700. And now Cyber Raider, attack his Crazy Beast, Discharger Fist!"  
  
The horned robotic warrior channeled its electrical energy into his fist, jumped up high and punched out the D.D. Crazy Beast, sending it to the graveyard.  
  
Ryan: 7800  
  
Michael: 7300  
  
"And I end my turn," Ryan said.  
  
Michael's turn-  
  
"Well good for you," Michael said drawing his card. "A 500 life point lead, but will you keep it up?"  
  
Ryan ignored his insult, "Just play your cards."  
  
"Okay you're eager to lose. I play the Field card Chorus of Sanctuary and I'll play one card face down in defense mode."  
  
Suddenly, the castle platform they were dueling on was surrounded with clouds and right above the clouds appeared a face down monster card. "Your turn."  
  
Ryan's turn-  
  
Ryan didn't remark on his defensive move and drew his card, "I play Sapphire Dragon (1900/1600) in attack mode."  
  
Beside Cyber Raider appeared the dragon of sapphire scales and spread its wings ready to attack.  
  
"Cyber Raider, attack the face down card, Discharger Fist!" His robotic warrior channeled electrical energy back into his fist and jumped up high to take out the face down monster.  
  
But as the card appeared, a dimension opened up and small goblin was riding a D.D. Crazy Beast. Cyber Raider directed his electric punch to the goblin, but the goblin cracked the whip it was holding and the Crazy Beast stood up and endured the blow.  
  
"That would be my D.D. Trainer (100/2000)," Michael said. "And with Chorus of Sanctuary out, his defense is 2500, stronger than your Cyber Raider."  
  
Ryan: 7400  
  
Michael: 7300  
  
"I'll end my turn then," Ryan said.  
  
Michael's turn-  
  
"Time to separate our life points," Michael said drawing his card. "I play Patrician of Darkness (2000/1400) in attack mode and I'll equip it with Megamorph, doubling his attack power 4000." As he grew double in size and was now the size of a giant. "Now Patrician of Darkness, attack Sapphire Dragon with Portal of the Dead!"  
  
The large zombie stormed generated a black portal behind the sapphire dragon and several chains shot out ensnaring Ryan's dragon. The dragon struggled to break free but to no avail as it was sent in and the portal closing up.  
  
Then, the large zombie warrior shrunk back to their normal size and shrunk even further.  
  
"Sure my Patrician's attack is now 1000 from Megamorph," Michael said. "But with his effect, I'll make you attack my D.D. Trainer rather than him."  
  
Ryan: 5300  
  
Michael: 7300  
  
Ryan's turn-  
  
"You'll pay for that," Ryan said drawing his card. "I'll sacrifice my Cyber Raider to bring out Kaiser Glider (2400/2200)." As he placed Cyber Raider into the graveyard, like a Frisbee he flicked Horn of the Unicorn back to Michael who placed the card on the top of his deck.  
  
An armored dragon with two mighty wings appeared and roared at the two weaker monsters he faced.  
  
"And I'll flip my face down card Mystical Space Typhoon, destroying your Chorus of Sanctuary," a great wind came through and the cloudy floor was blown away. "And since you'll just redirect my dragon's attack to your D.D. Trainer, I'll attack it. Hyper Wing Attack!" The armored dragon flew forward doing a loop and when it came down it flew quickly passed the Goblin, bisecting the Crazy Beast and its trainer.  
  
"Your turn," Ryan said.  
  
Michael's turn-  
  
Michael drew his card and thought for a few seconds then said, "I'll switch Patrician of Darkness to Defense mode and I play one card face down and end my turn."  
  
Ryan's turn-  
  
"Well, I'm not sure what you've got there but I know it can't be good," Ryan said drawing his card. "I play the magic card Cold Wave." Ryan and Michael's face down cards were both covered in ice and Ryan continued his turn. "And I'll play Nin-Ken Dog (1800/1000) in attack mode. Nin-Ken Dog, attack the Patrician of Darkness, Silent Wind Slash!"  
  
The doglike human appeared and it suddenly spun around like a top and vanished from sight. He reappeared up in the air slashing downward on the Patrician of Darkness, right down his chest. Michael's zombie then ceased to be and vanished from the field.  
  
"Go Kaiser Glider attack his life points directly, Hyper Wing Attack!" The armored dragon flew towards Michael but first flew up doing a loop and did a barrel-spin wing slash to him directly. "That ends my turn."  
  
Ryan: 5300  
  
Michael: 4900  
  
Michael's turn-  
  
"Well since I can't set or play any of my magic and trap cards, I'll set one card face down in defense mode and end my turn." Michael said as his only monster appeared on the field.  
  
Ryan's turn-  
  
"Cold Wave's effect is now no more," Ryan said as their cards thawed out and drew his card. "I play Harpie's Brother (1800/600) in attack mode."  
  
As the red-winged bird man appeared on the field, Ryan continued, "Harpie's Brother, attack the face down card, High Speed Slash!" The winged-beast raised his wings and threw them towards the ground, launching him from the ground almost instantly arrived to the face down card slashing downward on the yet-to-be revealed card.  
  
The card was revealed to be Morphing Jar and the three blades met across its head slicing it to shreds.  
  
"Now we each discard our hands and draw five new cards," Michael told him drawing five cards.  
  
Ryan also drew five cards and continued his turn, "Nin-Ken Dog, Kaiser Glider, attack Michael's life points directly!"  
  
Right when both of the monsters were about to unleash their attacks, Michael flipped his face down card and what defended him were several robed priestesses chanting a prayer.  
  
"Dammit Waboku," Ryan said as his monsters attacks did nothing. "I'll end my turn then."  
  
Michael's turn-  
  
"Well now," Michael said drawing his card, "Watch and weep as your monsters leave the field. I first play the Magic card, Change of Heart, taking control of your Kaiser Glider. And I'm not finished yet; I also play Different Dimension Gate."  
  
The two magic cards took effect. First, a woman appeared, one side of good and the other of evil. She flew right into Kaiser Glider taking control of him making the dragon switch sides of the field. Then, a metallic structure suddenly appeared and at the top of the structure rested a thick ring that could be seen through. A multicolored wall covered the space in the ring.  
  
"I'll send Kaiser Glider and your Nin-Ken Dog into the Different Dimension." Michael said.  
  
And it was so. Ryan's controlled dragon and his doglike man both got sucked in and were removed from the duel.  
  
"As long as Different Dimension Gate's out, both of your monsters will be out of the duel." Michael said placing Kaiser Glider in a compartment where monsters removed from play.  
  
Ryan placed Nin-Ken Dog in the same compartment on his Duel Disk as well.  
  
"And I'll play two cards face down ending my turn." Michael said as his cards appeared defending his life points.  
  
Ryan's turn-  
  
Ryan drew his card and looked over at Michael's face down card, after a few seconds of thinking he said, "I bet that's a Trap card, but it won't work. I'm saving my monsters. I play Mystical Space Typhoon, destroying Different Dimension Gate." As a powerful force of wind shot at the futuristic gate, Michael flipped his face down card.  
  
"I activate Judgment of Anubis," Michael said as a statue of a jackal appeared. "By discarding one card from my hand, I get to negate the effect of one of your magic cards and destroy one of your monsters and deal direct damage equal to the destroyed monster's attack. I choose Harpie's Brother."  
  
The jackal statue unleashed the Egyptian deity himself, Anubis. The jackal- headed god stood in front of the Typhoon's force and was unaffected then he made his judgment. He held out his right arm and pointed his thumb down taking Harpie's Brother to land of the dead, taking with him 1800 of Ryan's life points.  
  
"Ouch," Joey said to himself. "I remember when I had to face that card. Man did it hurt."  
  
"Well," Ryan said. "It's been seven minutes. So much for you beating me in five minutes, Laskow."  
  
"Well you've been stalling," Michael said. "Like what you're doing right now. Why don't you hurry up?"  
  
"Fine, I'll play Archfiend Soldier (1900/1500) in attack mode and I'll end my turn." Ryan said and the armored fiend appeared.  
  
"Looks like Ryan's gotten nervous on what Michael's other face down card could be," Joey said to Yugi.  
  
"That could very well be," Yugi said to him. "But he might be switching to the defensive and with Michael's cards and dueling skills, that's a good idea."  
  
Ryan: 3500  
  
Michael: 4900  
  
Michael's turn-  
  
"You were right to cower," Michael said drawing his card. "Your chances to win are like blocking a sword with a piece of paper. But still you're wasting my time to be in the finals. I flip my face down card, Dark Hole, sucking in your Archfiend Soldier."  
  
As the card was flipped, in between the two duelists, appeared a black hole and Ryan's fiend soldier was sucked in, sending it to the graveyard.  
  
"And here's a card you love to hate," Michael said. "I play Yata Garasu (200/100) in attack mode!"  
  
Ryan's most hated of all cards appeared on the field. That little crow made him glare with fury.  
  
"Yes that's right," Michael said. "There's truly nothing to do. Yata Garasu, attack his life points directly!"  
  
As the small crow flew towards Ryan, he flipped his face down card.  
  
"Activate Raigeki Break!" Suddenly, several small bolts of lightning struck down the little crow to ashes and faded from the field.  
  
"What the?!" Michael shouted.  
  
"That would be my Raigeki Break," Ryan said. "By discarding one card from my hand, I get to destroy one card on your side of the field. I chose that sky rat of yours. I was saving it just for that."  
  
"Damn it," Michael said placing his Spirit card into the graveyard. "I'll end my turn playing one card face down in defense mode ending my turn."  
  
Ryan's turn-  
  
"Well looks like the World Champion's eating his own words," Ryan said. "I play Mechanicalchaser (1850/800) in attack mode and I'll equip him with Big Bang Shot raising his attack power to 2250 and I'll attack your face down card with Multi-Weapon Assault!"  
  
Ryan's many-armed machine charged and struck the facedown card revealing to be a warrior wearing futuristic armor. It was quickly destroyed but before it died, the person pressed a button on their armor covering it and Mechanicalchaser in a reflective sphere. The sphere then shrunk until it couldn't be seen and they were both gone.  
  
"What the hell was that?" Ryan questioned.  
  
"That was my Dimensional Warrior (1200/1000)," Michael said with pride. "Any monster that they are attacked by is destroyed and they're both removed from the duel. However damage is still applied and I lost 1250 life points. A small price to pay."  
  
"So that's what it does," Joey said.  
  
"And it's a pretty powerful effect," Yugi said. "Any monster attacking it goes right down with it."  
  
"Then I'll end my turn placing one card face down." Ryan said and the only card on his side of the field defending him.  
  
Michael's turn-  
  
Michael drew his card then said, "I play Pot of Greed and I draw two cards." Michael drew his top two cards and let out a smirk. "You're in for hell now..."  
  
Ryan: 3500  
  
Michael: 3650 


	21. Grudge Match: Ryan VS Michael Part II

"Oh?" Ryan asked with disbelief. "Let's see it."  
  
"Here it comes," Michael said. "I'll play Blade Knight (1600/1000) in attack mode. And from his effect, if have one or fewer cards in my hand, his attack will rise to 2000." On Michael's side of the field appeared a knight in silver armor wielding a curved broadsword aimed directly at Ryan. "Now Blade Knight, attack Ryan's life points directly with Silver Blade Slash!"  
  
As the silver-armored knight leaped towards Ryan to slash him down, Ryan flipped his face down card.  
  
"I activate Mystical Space Typhoon, destroying Different Dimension Gate!" Ryan said as a powerful force of wind came, ripping the futuristic machine to scrap metal releasing Nin-Ken Dog (1800/1000) and Kaiser Glider (2400/2200) and back to the field.  
  
Nin-Ken Dog jumped up to defend Ryan but was slashed down and sent to the graveyard.  
  
"Very clever," Michael said. "But you forget Kaiser Glider is still under the effect of Change of Heart so he's still on my side of the field and you are open for a direct attack. Attack Kaiser Glider, Hyper Wing Attack!"  
  
The controlled armored dragon flew passed Ryan and came back doing a loop and colliding right into him doing a barrel spin with his wings.  
  
"Damn it," Ryan said as his life points fell to less than 1000.  
  
"I'm not finished," Michael said. "I'll play The Shallow Grave. Now we each take a monster card from our graveyard and place it on the field face down in defense mode."  
  
Michael and Ryan each pulled out their monster cards in the graveyard slot on their Duel Disks, picked one monster and placed it face down on the field.  
  
"That'll end my turn," Michael said smugly.  
  
"Ouch," Joey remarked. "That had to hurt."  
  
"Yeah, Ryan just lost a lot of life points," Yugi said. "One more attack like that and Ryan might not be able to recover."  
  
Ryan: 900  
  
Michael: 3650  
  
Ryan's turn-  
  
Ryan drew his card and thought for about a minute before making a move, "I play Makyura the Destructor (1600/1200) in attack mode and I'll have him attack your face down card, Phantom Claw!"  
  
The dark warrior rose up his two triple-bladed claws and ran swiftly towards the face down card. The card flipped face up revealing Michael's Morphing Jar again. Makyura slashed the one-eyed being that dwelled in the jar and was sent back to the graveyard.  
  
"Once again we shall discard our hands and draw five cards in our hands." Michael said adding five cards to his once-empty hand.  
  
"Well there's one downside to Morphing Jar's effect," Ryan said as he sent his only card to the graveyard and drew five more cards.  
  
"And what would that be?" Michael asked skeptically.  
  
"You have five cards in your hand," Ryan said. "That sends your Blade Knight back to 1600 attack power."  
  
"Oh crap," Michael said. "Forgot about that."  
  
"First, I'll play two cards face down. And now, Kaiser Glider, attack Blade Knight, Hyper Wing Attack!" Ryan proclaimed and his dragon shattered the silver-armored knight with a barrel spin, then Ryan flipped over one of his face down cards. "I activate the quickplay magic card, Sebek's Blessing. I can only activate it when I deal Battle Damage to you. And I gain life points equal to what you lost."  
  
"That would make him at 1700 life points," Yugi said.  
  
"That's not bad," Joey commented. "Maybe Ryan's still in this."  
  
"Your turn," Ryan said.  
  
Ryan: 1700  
  
Michael: 2850  
  
Michael's turn-  
  
"You're beginning to annoy me," Michael said drawing his card. "I'll summon Different Dimension Dragon (1200/1500) in attack mode."  
  
Suddenly, a reflective sphere appeared in the center of the field and grew in size. When it stopped growing around fifteen feet in diameter, it opened up releasing a green, four-winged dragon with a long tail. It flew towards Michael and defended him, letting out a roar towards Ryan.  
  
"Another Dimension card," Yugi said to himself. "Obviously they're Michael's favorite cards to use."  
  
"And I'll equip my dragon with Mage Power and United We Stand, altogether increasing his attack power to 3000." Michael said as his monster had began glowing red from Mage Power, and gold from United We Stand, demonstrating its increased power.  
  
"Different Dimension Dragon destroy Makyura the Destructor, Dimensional Cannon!" Michael shouted with what seemed to be, triumph.  
  
The green dragon opened its mouth gathering gold and red bits of energy around his mouth. It formed a sphere of red and gold moving around all about. It grew as big as an average-sized wrecking ball until it finally stopped. The dragon then fired the sphere and changed from a large sphere to a big blast of energy shaped like thick javelin.  
  
As it was about to hit Makyura, Ryan flipped his other face down card.  
  
"Go Waboku!" Ryan shouted as several robed priestesses appeared chanting a prayer saving Makyura's life.  
  
Michael growled at his monster's nullified attack, "I'll play one card face down and end my turn then."  
  
Ryan's turn-  
  
Ryan was about to draw his card but he first said to Michael, "Laskow, I gotta know. Why would the World Champion risk losing his title doing something like this?"  
  
Michael was silent and refused to answer Ryan's question.  
  
"Tell me," Ryan said. "Why would you do something like this?"  
  
Michael still remained silent, but then said, "You're wasting time. We only have 15 minutes left. Hurry up so I can win."  
  
"I'm not drawing my card until you talk," Ryan said folding his arms.  
  
Ryan and Michael stared off at each other waiting for someone to say or do something.  
  
One minute had passed and their faces never changed.  
  
At the second minute, they remained the same, but Joey broke the silence.  
  
"Come on this is a duel!" he shouted. "Ryan make your move!"  
  
"Sorry, but I need to know why this excuse of a champion would stoop so low," Ryan told Joey.  
  
At the fourth minute, Michael began getting nervous and worrying.  
  
But at the fifth minute, he snapped.  
  
"Okay!" he shouted. "You want to know what happened? You should know, you were asked too."  
  
Yugi and his friends were confused by what Michael said.  
  
"'Asked?'" Yugi questioned.  
  
"Yeah that's right," Michael said. "Salazar asked both of us to enter his tournament as eliminators to defeat Yugi for a lot of money."  
  
Yugi and the others either gasped or widened when they heard this.  
  
"Well, Stone didn't want to duel like that but to me money is money," Michael said to everyone else. "Salazar said he'd give me a bunch of good cards. Cards that no one could comprehend or defeat. He never did give them. But one of my jobs was to trick Yugi into being his friend and secretly dueled as the eliminator Nightmare to steal his Millennium Puzzle. However I was defeated by Muto and I am now waiting for what's to become of me. Now will you start your turn already? There's only about ten minutes until the finals are over."  
  
"Sure," Ryan said as he finally drew his card. "I'll offer Makyura the Destructor to bring out Blowback Dragon (2300/1200)."  
  
As the dark warrior faded from the field, a mechanical dragon with a large gun barrel rested on its head.  
  
"First from Makyura's effect, I can play a trap card from my hand," Ryan said slipping a card into an empty Magic/Trap slot. "I play Dust Tornado destroying your face down card."  
  
As the card appeared on the field, a gray tornado appeared and arrived to the face down card, sucking it in. Then the tornado shot the card out of itself and off into the card graveyard.  
  
"Crap," Michael said placing his trap into the graveyard slot. "My Jar of Greed."  
  
"But that isn't all," Ryan said pulling out his quarter. "I'm using my dragon's effect. If I flip a coin and it lands on heads two out of three times, it can destroy a card on your side of the field."  
  
Ryan then flipped the quarter and it flew high in the air. When it landed in his hand, the first result was heads.  
  
"One down, one to go," Ryan said and his mechanical claws on his feet latched on the ground gripping tightly. Then the machine monster leaned forward extending its tail out perfectly straight and its front claws latched onto the ground as well. The dragon then raised up its head pointing the gun barrel directly towards Michael.  
  
Ryan flipped his quarter a second time and like before it landed in his palm. But it landed on tails.  
  
"Well I still have one more chance," Ryan said flipping his coin again.  
  
As the coin flew up and landed in his closed palm. He opened up his palm to look at the coin, revealing to be another tails.  
  
"Damn," Ryan said to his failed attack.  
  
Since the attack was a dud, Blowback Dragon reverted to its original form and roared at Michael.  
  
"Well," Michael said. "Looks like your luck ran out."  
  
"Yeah, yeah," Ryan said. "I'll end my turn playing one card face down ending my turn."  
  
Michael's turn-  
  
"I never thought of you playing a combo that didn't damage someone's life points," Michael said drawing his card. "Well I'll play one card face down in defense mode and I'll have Different Dimension Dragon attack your Blowback Dragon. Dimensional Cannon!"  
  
Michael's four-winged dragon flew up and gathered gold energy from United We Stand and red energy from Mage Power and fired another devastating attack wiping out Ryan's machine monster leaving behind shards of metal.  
  
"I'll also play one card face down," Michael said placing the card in an empty slot. "Your turn."  
  
"That dragon Michael's got is really annoying," Joey said looking off it at glowing red and gold.  
  
"You don't know the half of it," Yugi said to Joey. "Different Dimension Dragon can't be destroyed by magic and trap cards that target more than one monster like Raigeki, Mirror Force or Dark Hole. We'll see if Ryan can do anything now."  
  
Ryan: 1000  
  
Michael: 2850  
  
Ryan's turn-  
  
"Well I hope you enjoyed this duel," Ryan said looking at the card he drew. "I'll play one card face down ending my turn."  
  
"Does Ryan mean he has a card that can win the duel for him?" Joey asked Yugi.  
  
"Please," Kaiba answered Joey. "He's bluffing. That Dragon is practically unstoppable to the strongest of magic and trap cards. What card could he possess?"  
  
"I think I know," Yugi said really sure. "And it could win the duel for Ryan."  
  
Joey was puzzled by what card it could be and looked on at the rivals duel.  
  
Michael's turn-  
  
Right when Michael drew his card, Ryan flipped his face down card.  
  
"I activate Last Turn," Ryan said and he sent all his cards in his hand and field except Kaiser Glider. "Are you familiar with this card? I think it works especially well on your Dimension deck. So wipe your field clean and bring out your strongest monster."  
  
Michael was worried now. He sent his entire hand and cards on the field to the graveyard.  
  
"I bring out my D.D. Warrior Lady (1500/1600)," Michael sighed. "And since last turn was activated, I have to have her attack. Go D.D. Warrior Lady, attack Kaiser Glider."  
  
The Female dimensional warrior charged at the dragon and slashed at the Dragon's neck.  
  
Kaiser Glider was too fast and easily dodged the attack by flying above the attack.  
  
D.D. Warrior Lady landed back onto the ground but turned around to face the dragon.  
  
Kaiser Glider did a tailspin towards the ground the flew directly towards the female warrior.  
  
D.D. Warrior Lady raised up her blade to strike Kaiser Glider down but it was too late. Kaiser Glider had done its spinning attack, knocking the D.D. Warrior Lady's blade out of her hand and sending her high into the sky only to be brought down to the ground. She then faded from the field and into the graveyard.  
  
"I won," Ryan said as his Kaiser Glider roared in triumph at Michael.  
  
The duel had ended. Kaiser Glider vanished from the field.  
  
Michael sighed deeply and he cringed his teeth in defeat and anger.  
  
"Take your star chips," Michael said taking out five of his star chips on his dueling glove and threw them at Ryan.  
  
Michael stormed through Yugi and Joey and walked down the stone stairs and to the docks.  
  
Yugi, Joey and Mai gathered around Ryan to congratulate him.  
  
"Nice card," Joey said.  
  
"Great strategy," Mai said.  
  
"You sure showed Michael," Yugi said. "You beat him with about five minutes to spare.  
  
"I only used that card because Michael used a card for a one-turn win," Ryan said putting in his star chips. "I was just returning the favor. Next time we duel someone's life points will be lost."  
  
Ryan then walked passed the three duelists and towards the large metal gates of the castle.  
  
"What's his problem?" Joey asked.  
  
"He's probably used to be alone," Mai said. "I kind of understand how he feels."  
  
"He'll be a worthy opponent to duel," Kaiba said. "He'll give me a challenge."  
  
Then, the metal doors opened up for Ryan and he walked through and the doors closed with a loud clang as they closed against each other.  
  
"Well let's get in," Yugi said and the four finalists walked to the metal doors.  
  
The metal doors were even bigger up close. They were probably about six inches thick of solid steel. Off to the side of the doors was a numerical panel with several other devices.  
  
Yugi walked up to the panel and a slot opened up with fifteen star-shaped holes carved into the slot.  
  
"I guess you put the star chips in here," Yugi said placing in his fifteen star chips and immediately as Yugi placed the last of his star chips in, the slot closed in.  
  
A few seconds later, the large metal doors opened up.  
  
Just as Yugi walked through the door, it closed as immediately as he was through the doorway.  
  
"What the?" Yugi looked behind him seeing his friends didn't have a chance to get through.  
  
Yugi banged on the metal doors to try and open them but to no avail.  
  
A few seconds after Yugi started banging on the doors, they opened up again and Kaiba walked through. As soon as Kaiba was through the doorway, it closed again.  
  
"Kaiba?" Yugi asked him. "What happened?"  
  
"Apparently Salazar's made his security extra tight," Kaiba told him. "So only one duelist can get through the door at a time.  
  
A few seconds passed and Mai walked through. After Mai soon came Joey.  
  
"Well I guess everyone's here," Yugi said.  
  
"Look how many finalists there are," Kaiba looked over at the corridor where many duelists were conversing with one another. "Too many."  
  
Kaiba stayed away from the crowd while Yugi, Joey and Mai walked down the corridor to see who the other duelists were... 


	22. Too Many Finalists

Yugi, Joey, and Mai walked down the long corridor in Salazar's castle and it looked much different from the last time they were here. The lightly colored interior was replaced by dark stone bricks lighted up by torches on the supporting pillars and hung from the high ceiling there were chandeliers also lit by fire. The three of them were walking on a soft red carpet that stretched far down the corridor. So far, the castle looked very medieval.  
  
"Man," Joey said looking around at the finely built interior of the castle. "This guy must have money out the yin-yang to have rebuilt this place."  
  
"I'll say," Mai said also impressed. "This is completely different from what I remember."  
  
When they arrived to the end of the corridor, there was a large room with two more long corridors going to the left and right. To the front was a wall but in front of it stood a finely-made stone statue of a mighty dragon that was covered with thick armor and it looked like it was roaring with its mighty wings that spanned thirty feet. Above the statue was a balcony that expanded to ten feet. In the center of the room was a large beautiful fountain where several of the finalists were gathered around talking to one another.  
  
"How'd in the hell did this guy buy Duel Monsters AND build all this?" Joey said looking at everything in the room.  
  
"Well, well, look who's here," a familiar voice said to Yugi.  
  
The three of them looked to the left where the voice came from and saw two familiar duelists.  
  
"Rex Raptor," Joey said identifying one of the duelists.  
  
"And Mako Tsunami," Yugi said to the other duelist.  
  
"Hey Wheeler, hey Mai," Rex said.  
  
"And Hello again, Yugi," Mako said to Yugi.  
  
"So you both made it to the finals," Joey said.  
  
The Dinosaur duelist and the Ocean duelist both nodded in agreement.  
  
"It wasn't hard to get through to the finals," Rex said. "On account that there were a bunch of duelists so we had no trouble getting through."  
  
"And I expected no less for three of the world's greatest duelists," Mako said.  
  
"Aw gee," Joey said modestly putting one of his hands behind his head. "I wouldn't say world's best."  
  
"Yeah thanks," Yugi said also modestly.  
  
"Well you boys must've gotten better," Mai said. "Getting here couldn't have been easy."  
  
"You could say that again," Mako said.  
  
"I'll say," Rex answered.  
  
"Who else is here?" Yugi asked.  
  
"Pretty much every big shot from whatever country they're from," Rex said.  
  
Mako pointed towards a duelist looking at the dragon statue, "That guy over there, Kurt Schneider is the number one duelist in Germany and was in the semifinals of the World Championship. I'm not sure what he uses."  
  
"That's the guy I tricked into getting his suite," Mai said. "He fell for the same thing you did, Rex."  
  
"Man, what a dummy," Rex said, laughing.  
  
"I hope I don't have to duel him," Mai said. "He'll want to take me out hard and fast."  
  
"And over there," Rex pointed to a girl sitting at the base of the fountain. "That's Colette Thibodeaux, France's best duelist. She uses a bunch of cutesy cards and takes her opponent by surprise acting innocent and junk."  
  
"Wow..." Joey said looking at her like a zombie.  
  
Mai broke Joey from his fantasy with a punch to his noggin.  
  
"Ow!" Joey shouted grabbing his head.  
  
"Wake up," Mai said. "She probably duels men and all they care about is staring at her."  
  
"Mai," Yugi began. "Were you jealous?"  
  
"Wha?" Mai said but before she could get cornered with questions she could answer she laughed and said. "Are you kidding? It's just that the way she acts is demeaning to all women. I'll show her in the dueling ring."  
  
"Ooh, a cat fight," Joey said while making a cat noise.  
  
"Shut up you," Mai said walking away from the four duelists.  
  
"What's with her?" Joey asked.  
  
"Ugh," Mako said hitting his forehead. "Joey you'll never understand women."  
  
~Salazar's office, 5:17 PM~  
  
Salazar was rubbing his temples still nursing his hangover. However when he grabbed hold of the Millennium Rod and his pain in the head was gone.  
  
"Master Salazar?" his intercom spoke on his desk.  
  
"Yes what is it, Croquet?" Salazar said in more relief.  
  
"We got them, it didn't take long," the voice said on the intercom. "Shall I bring them in?"  
  
"Of course," he said now feeling fully revitalized spinning around his chair then facing the doorway right in front of the desk. "Bring them in immediately."  
  
A moment passed and several suits in dark glasses escorted in Salazar's three remaining eliminators Titan, Magi and Michael Laskow. The suits released them by bringing to their knees in front of Salazar.  
  
"You guys may take your leave," Salazar said to the suits.  
  
The suits did and closed the door behind them. Michael quickly got off his knees and ran to the door to open it, but the suits had already locked it.  
  
"Get back on your knees," Salazar said as he pointed his Millennium Rod to Michael.  
  
Suddenly, Michael was brought to the ground and something was controlling him to crawl back and got in between Magi and Titan again.  
  
"You three are my eliminators and you were all defeated," Salazar said to them then directed himself to Michael. "One of you twice."  
  
"You see Master," Magi began. "It was Titan's fault he ruined my whole dueling plan! He attacked me!"  
  
"You bastard," Titan shot back. "You backstabbed me first. You got what you deserved."  
  
"Shut up!" Salazar shouted. "You three have failed me, and I want to show you your replacements."  
  
"Replacements?" the three eliminators said in unison.  
  
"Yes," Salazar said pressing a red button on his desk and a wall rose up revealing darkness.  
  
What walked out were three people. Two were hooded and covered up by robes and they also had golden eyes resting on their foreheads. The other person standing in front of them was a white haired young man. He had tattered clothes as if he had worn them for years and he was terribly skinny as if he hadn't eaten in a while.  
  
"Hold on Salazar," Michael said standing up. "You're a businessman how about a proposition?"  
  
"Hmm," Salazar said intrigued. "Go on."  
  
"Well how about giving us one more chance?" Michael asked. "I'm aware you're still unsure how to make the match-ups. Well if you have six rather than three you have the possibility of beating Yugi and his friends."  
  
"There won't need to be any 'possibility' to defeat Yugi," the white-haired young man said. "I've dueled him before and my deck has been improved with the newest and strongest cards, he'll never have a chance."  
  
"Mr. Bakura, please," Salazar said, "I like the idea of six rather than three. Okay then. Magi, Titan and Mr. Laskow, you are safe for now."  
  
Salazar then stood up and presented Magi, Titan and Michael a briefcase.  
  
"These hold the newest cards created by Salazar Enterprises," Salazar said to them. "They won't be on the market for several months."  
  
Titan and Magi opened the briefcase and looked in awe at the cards.  
  
"But Mr. Laskow," Salazar said to Michael handing him a stack of cards. "As promised, here are the cards I promised to give you. I believe they will be of utmost use in your case."  
  
Michael looked at the cards and began laughing and saying, "Yes these will do perfectly."  
  
"So it seems I have six eliminators again," Salazar said looking among them but then was hit with an idea. "I know how the battle match-ups will go..."  
  
~Salazar's Castle, corridor~  
  
Seto Kaiba had remained in the corridor not wanting to be in the crowd.  
  
"Seto Kaiba..." a person called to him.  
  
"Who wants to know?" Kaiba answered looking where the voice came from.  
  
"We've been waiting for this moment to duel you," another voice said.  
  
"Have you?" Kaiba asked back.  
  
"And now it's time for comeuppance," a third voice said.  
  
"Show yourselves already!" Kaiba said.  
  
The three people stepped forward from the darkness, all wearing white and blue clothing.  
  
"And who are you three supposed to be?" Kaiba asked them.  
  
"We are the Blue-Eyes White Dragon Clan," they said.  
  
"I didn't know I had a fan club," Kaiba said letting out a laugh.  
  
"Please," the English duelist said. "We originally had the Blue-Eyes White Dragons and it was your thugs that took them from us."  
  
"Is that a fact." Kaiba said, "You three losers think you can beat me and win back what you claim to be your cards?"  
  
"That's why we're here," the Egyptian duelist said.  
  
"And we won't lose," the Japanese duelist said. "Those cards were once ours and they will be again."  
  
"If you're so sure of yourselves," Kaiba said. "Let's duel right here."  
  
"Fine by me," the three of them said.  
  
As soon as the four duelists activated their Duel Disks, an announcement could be heard.  
  
"Attention all finalists please gather to the main hall immediately," a voice said throughout the castle.  
  
"Damn," the Japanese duelist said. "I guess we'll have to duel in the tourney."  
  
"Lucky for you," Kaiba said to him turning off his Duel Disk going towards the center.  
  
"I was going to tell you the same thing," the Japanese duelist told him and he and his two associate turned off their Duel Disks following Kaiba.  
  
As the thirty finalists gathered, they all looked up at the balcony waiting for Salazar's arrival.  
  
Salazar arrived in a business suit looking down at the finalists from the balcony.  
  
"Ah, hello my finalists of Duelist Kingdom," Salazar began. "I'm sure you're excited to have made it this far. But now the thirty of you will drop to less than half. The first round in the finals shall be a four-way free-for-all duel. Four duelists shall duel and the last two standing get to move on to the second round. Your names shall be called off at random proceed down the corridor to your left for the dueling arenas. Good luck to all of you."  
  
Salazar turned around and left the balcony and as he left for his quarters, he thought to himself, 'However, twelve of you won't even get the chance to duel...'  
  
The 30 finalists walked to the left corridor all of them were walking, not in a hurry whatsoever.  
  
When the finalists arrived to the end of the corridor, another large metal door stood in there way. But the door was automatically opened to more of a long corridor, or so it seemed.  
  
At first three duelists walked through the large doorway, then six, then twelve. When the eighteenth finalist passed through the doorway, the large metal doors suddenly shut on the other twelve duelists.  
  
The duelists that were left behind banged on the metal doors to try and open but it was useless. Suddenly as if they were all hit on the head, they collapsed to the ground unconscious.  
  
The eighteen duelists that made it through didn't notice and kept walking. They kept on walking straight and their path came along some stone stairs that curved downward. That didn't stop them and they continued down the stairs.  
  
Joey looked behind him and saw that there were only six finalists.  
  
"Uh, Yugi?" Joey asked quietly.  
  
"Joey?" Yugi asked. "Why are you talking quietly?"  
  
"Look behind you," he answered.  
  
Yugi looked behind him and saw six finalists. But they looked different from the other duelists back at the entrance. They were all dressed casually except for three of them who were covered up by black robes. Three of them were dressed casually.  
  
One of them was big, standing about 6'7" with a build to match. He wore black jeans, combat boots, a white undershirt and a black unbuttoned short- sleeved shirt. His head was shaved and had tan skin.  
  
The other duelist was shorter to the taller duelist, standing about 5'11" and had a skinnier build. He wore loose blue jeans held up by a belt, blue sneakers, and a black loose long-sleeved shirt. His blue-green hair was long in the front and was spiked to keep out of his hair and had pale skin.  
  
The third duelist was unmistakably familiar to Yugi. He stood at 5'9" and had a skinny build as well. He wore blue trousers, black t-shirt shirt, and a light green short-sleeved jacket that looked old and worn for a while. He had pale skin and long white hair.  
  
"Bakura?" Yugi said to Joey. "Is that really him?"  
  
"I dunno," Joey said. "He looks a lot like him."  
  
"But the problem is Bakura's gone," Yugi sighed remembering on the Battle City blimp when Marik defeated Bakura and all that was left was his Millennium Ring.  
  
The rest of the walk for Yugi and Joey was silent. When the staircase ended, they stood in front a room with seven different doors of metal all around. Each door depicted Roman-Numerals and several suits in dark glasses awaited them.  
  
"Welcome finalists," a gray-haired suit announced. "I am Croquet, Tournament Official of Duelist Kingdom. This is where you the finalists shall duel. Behind each door is a dueling arena where four randomly- selected finalists shall duel. The rules apply as normal, when a duelist's life points drop to zero, they lose and are out of the tournament. The last two remaining duelists will proceed to the next round. More will be revealed in due time."  
  
"Now let the match-ups begin," another suit said with a clipboard of who would duel who.  
  
"The duelists that will duel in Door I," the suit began. "Rex Ryukazi..."  
  
Rex Raptor smirked and seemed pleased to be the first picked in the finals. After he heard his name he walked towards the door marked with the Roman numeral, I.  
  
"Ryan Stone..."  
  
Ryan was away from the crowd of duelists sitting in a corner. When he heard his name, he stood up stretching his arms and legs then walked towards the first door as well.  
  
"Mako Ryouta..."  
  
Mako looked happy to be in the same dueling room as Rex's and he walked towards the door high-fiving Rex.  
  
"...and Joseph Wheeler."  
  
"Heh, all right," Joey said punching one of palms in readiness. "I'm ready to kick some butt."  
  
"Be careful Joey," Yugi said. "Your taking on three expert duelists and I think Rex and Mako are going to be working together on this."  
  
"Well in that case, Ryan and I will give them the duel of their life," Joey said. "Wish me luck, Yuge."  
  
"Good luck," Yugi said to him.  
  
Joey then walked over to the door with the other duelists. Mako opened the door for them and as they all walked in, the door closed and locked automatically.  
  
The dueling room looked weird. It was all white all around and the room was in a perfect cube.  
  
"Well let's get started," Rex said turning on his Duel Disk and walked to a far corner of the room.  
  
"Yes let's," Mako said turning on his Duel Disk and walked to the other far side of the room to the left of Rex.  
  
"Ready to duel them?" Joey asked Ryan going to the corner across from Rex.  
  
"I am but are you?" Ryan said turning on his Duel Disk and going to the remaining corner across from Mako.  
  
"Uh yeah," Joey said confused from Ryan's remark.  
  
'I guess I'm on my own then,' Joey though turning on his Duel Disk.  
  
"Let's duel!" The four duelists said and their life points went to 8000...  
  
NOTE: There may be some confusion in Rex and Mako's names. I had them have their Japanese last names (and their first names are the English version, but I bet you knew that already) because I doubt Rex's last name is Raptor and Mako's is Tsunami. They're more than likely their dueling names. 


	23. The First Preliminary Match Part I

"So what'll you guys be willing to wager if you lose?" Rex asked.  
  
"How about one rare card from each of the two losing duelists?" Joey suggested.  
  
"Fine with me," Ryan said.  
  
"Yes that's sounds fair," Mako said.  
  
"All right then," Rex said. "So the winner will win two new cards."  
  
The other duelists nodded in agreement and the four duelists drew their first five cards.  
  
"I'll start," Joey said drawing an additional card. "I play Gearfried the Iron Knight (1800/1600) in attack mode and I'll put one magic or trap face down ending my turn."  
  
As the metallic warrior appeared, a large card appeared behind it. Gearfried was looking from Rex, to Mako, and Ryan since each one was an enemy to him.  
  
Rex's turn-  
  
"Now I'll go," Rex said drawing his card. "I'll special summon Gilasaurus (1400/400) and I..."  
  
"Not so fast," Joey said flipping his face down card. "I activate Trap Hole, sending any monster summoned with 1000 or more attack points straight to the graveyard!"  
  
As the velociraptor appeared on the field, the floor beneath it began to give way. Suddenly, the floor broke open about to send the dinosaur to the graveyard, but it had leaped up high evading the hole.  
  
"How did that happen?" Joey asked.  
  
"You don't know much about dinosaur cards Wheeler," Rex said. "Gilasaurus has an effect where I can choose for it to be special summoned. And Trap Hole doesn't work on special summoned monsters. You just wasted a good trap card."  
  
"Aw crap," Joey said placing his Trap Hole trap card to the graveyard.  
  
"Now I'll normal summon Mad Sword Beast (1400/1200) in attack mode and end my turn playing the Field Magic card Wasteland, powering up my dinosaurs."  
  
As a rabid styracosaurus with a sharp metal dagger on the end of his snout materialized and appeared by Rex's Gilasaurus. The white room changed greatly, transforming into a rocky, barren expanse of wilderness, dotted here and there by dead shrubs.  
  
"Whoa cool," Joey said looking at the new surroundings. "Virtual Reality to the extreme."  
  
"That makes Gilasaurus a 1900/900, and Mad Sword Beast a 1950/1700. Too bad none of us can attack the first turn. Wheeler would've lost a nice chunk of life points then." Rex said as his dinosaurs pawed at the ground feeling more at home.  
  
"Dream on Raptor," Joey told him. "I'd like to see you attack me."  
  
"Just wait until next turn," Rex said as if he had a plan up his sleeve.  
  
Ryan's turn-  
  
"Now I'll go," Ryan said drawing his card. "I play two cards face down and I'll summon Helping Robo for Combat (1600/0) in attack mode, ending my turn."  
  
As the two cards appeared defending the red-haired duelist, a primitive looking robot appeared. On its left arm was a frying pan in its right was a vacuum hose and on its back was a metal basket holding different pieces of scrap metal.  
  
Mako's turn-  
  
"Well now it is my turn," Mako said drawing a sixth card. "I'll first play the Field Magic card, Umi!"  
  
Suddenly, a huge wave rose from behind Mako and crashed onto the field. Suddenly Rex's Wasteland shrunk in size and the ruined land turned into a wasteland island. The same went for everyone else and they were all on small pieces of dead land.  
  
"That isn't all," Mako said. "I play the catch of the day, 7 Colored Fish (1800/800) in attack mode."  
  
As the rainbow colored fish appeared, it dove into the water and raising its head to face its opponents.  
  
"From Umi, 7 Colored Fish's attack and defense rise to 2300/1300. Plus it decreases all Pyro and Machine type's attack and defense by 200." Mako said.  
  
Suddenly, Ryan's Helping Robo for Combat got a bit rusty from the sea breeze of Umi.  
  
"And I'll end my turn playing one card face down." Mako said placing the card in an empty slot on his Duel Disk.  
  
Joey's turn-  
  
"Okay now it's time to do some damage," Joey said drawing his card and looking at the monsters played on the field. "All right I play Garoozis (1800/1500) in attack mode and I'll play the Magic card, Shield and Sword. Now everyone's monsters attack and defense switch with each other. That makes Gearfried a 1600 and Garoozis 1500."  
  
Ryan's cool head went worried now that his machine monster's attack power was now at zero.  
  
"Now Garoozis, attack 7 Colored Fish, Five Way Slash!" Joey shouted pointing to Mako's monster.  
  
The dragon-headed beast-warrior obeyed and jumped off Joey's wasteland island and landed in shallow water near Mako's rainbow fish. Garoozis then rose up his axe to turn the fish into sushi.  
  
"Activate Tornado Wall!" Mako said and a mighty wind blew around him.  
  
The winds picked up faster and faster. When Garoozis still swung his axe around forming a pentagram and slashing the fish into sushi. As soon as the fish died, the winds picked up Garoozis and threw him around.  
  
"What was that?" Joey questioned as his dragon-headed monster returned to his part of the field.  
  
"Forgot about my Tornado Wall?" Mako asked as the winds continued to blow around him. "It reduces any damage to my life points to zero."  
  
"Aw damn," Joey said but then turned his eye to Rex. "Well I still have you. And with Shield and Sword still in play, your dinos are still pretty weak."  
  
"Go for it," Rex joked.  
  
"Go Gearfried. Attack Rex's Gilasaurus, Iron Blade Strike!" Joey ordered and his metallic knight jumped up and came crashing down slicing Rex's velociraptor down its neck, sending it to the graveyard.  
  
"So much for your raptor, Raptor," Joey joked.  
  
"Ha, ha," Rex laughed sarcastically. "You done yet? My dinos are hungry!"  
  
"Yeah I'm done," Joey said.  
  
Joey: 8000  
  
Rex: 7300  
  
Ryan: 8000  
  
Mako: 8000  
  
Rex's turn-  
  
Rex drew his card and smirked over at Joey, "Heh, heh. I play one card face down and I'll play Gagagigo (1850/1000) in attack mode. Go Gagagigo, attack Garoozis!"  
  
The reptilian warrior obeyed by swimming through the water and rose out slashing at the dragon-headed monster. Garoozis tried to block with its axe, but the reptile's claws broke threw slashing at its face, sending him to the graveyard.  
  
"That's not all," Rex said to Joey but then turned to Ryan. "Go, Mad Sword Beast, attack Helping Robo for Combat, Horn Skewer!"  
  
The styracosaurus roared and ran right off the wasteland island running through the shallow water and arriving to Ryan's side of the field. As the curved metal horn was about to drive in the primitive robot's chest, Ryan flipped one of his face down cards.  
  
"Activate trap card, Sakuretsu Armor!" Suddenly, Ryan's Helping Robo was covered in silver armor. The armor unleashed a force of energy around the primitive robot and as Rex's Mad Sword Beast arrived, the rabid dinosaur drove it sword to impale the machine. However the armor's force broke the Mad Sword Beast's horn clear off sending it to the graveyard.  
  
"Sakuretsu Armor destroys any one of your attacking monsters," Ryan said. "So My Robo is safe."  
  
"That's what you think," Rex said flipping his face down card. "I activate Michizure!"  
  
As Rex's Mad Sword began to fade from the field, a piece of land on Ryan's side of the field holding his Helping Robo sunk into the sea and into the graveyard.  
  
"Whenever one of my monsters is sent to the graveyard, I can activate Michizure which can destroy any monster on the field," Rex said.  
  
'So Rex is using some trap cards besides all dinosaurs,' Joey thought. 'I'd better watch out for some of those then.'  
  
"That'll end my turn," Rex said to Ryan.  
  
Ryan's turn-  
  
Ryan had a frustrated look on his face as he looked at his hand.  
  
When he drew his card he sighed with relief. "I play one card face down, and I'll play Sapphire Dragon (1900/1600) in attack mode!"  
  
The beautiful sapphire dragon appeared on the field and looked on towards its opposing monsters, reluctant to fight them.  
  
"Wow," Joey said marveling at the card. "Nice card, Ryan."  
  
Ryan ignored Joey's comment and continued his turn, "And I'll attack your Gagagigo, Raptor. Go Sapphire Dragon, avenge Helping Robo. Sapphire Blaze!"  
  
The blue dragon took flight and flew toward Rex's reptile warrior. It breathed a river of blue fire towards it, burning Gagagigo to a crisp.  
  
"That'll do it for me," Ryan said ending his turn.  
  
Joey: 8000  
  
Rex: 7250  
  
Ryan: 8000  
  
Mako: 8000  
  
Mako's turn-  
  
"Well I see no one's attacking," Mako said drawing his card. "Why change a good thing? I play one card face down, ending my turn."  
  
Joey's turn-  
  
"Well it's time someone did some real damage and you Raptor are wide open," Joey said drawing his card.  
  
Rex got nervous at what he heard.  
  
"Yeah you should be worried," Joey said to him. "All right, I'll put one card face down and I'll summon Alligator's Sword (1500/1200) and I'll..."  
  
"Sorry Joey," Mako said flipping his face down card. "I activate Torrential Tribute! That wipes out every monster on the field."  
  
Another huge wave appeared towering over Mako. This one however crashed into all the monsters on the field sending them all directly to the graveyard.  
  
"Then I'll end my turn," Joey said seeing no more that he could do.  
  
Rex's turn-  
  
"Well Wheeler," Rex said with a smile. "It seems the tables have turned. Thanks Mako."  
  
"Don't mention it," Mako said giving him a thumbs up.  
  
"Well I'll first play Pot of Greed letting me draw two more cards," Rex said drawing two more cards. "Well this is gonna hurt Wheeler. I first play another Mad Sword Beast (1400/1200) but from the Wasteland field, he becomes a 1900/1200. But his power won't stop there. I'll equip with Gravity Axe increasing his attack to 2400."  
  
As another styracosaurus materialized to the field, its sharp metal horn was replaced by an Axe Blade. The axe blade gave off an eerie green glow as the monster pointed its new weapon towards Joey.  
  
"But that isn't all," Rex said to Joey. "I hold in my hand one of the strongest dinosaurs in the game. I play Guardian Grarl (2500/1000)!"  
  
As Rex played the monster card on the field, a dinosaur-like person appeared. Resembling like a tyrannosaurus, this monster had bulging muscles wielding a large battleaxe and blood red eyes.  
  
"I can special summon if this is the only card in my hand and if I have Gravity Axe on the field. From the Wasteland, Grarl's attack and defense rise to 3000/2000!" Rex said proudly. "Now Grarl, Mad Sword Beast! Attack Wheeler's life points directly!"  
  
As the two dinosaurs obeyed, they crossed the sea of the field card Umi with ease. And as they arrived to Joey's portion of the field they were ready to strike him down.  
  
"Not so fast," Joey said flipping his face down card. "I activate Scapegoat!"  
  
Four different colored goats appeared on Joey's side of the field to defend him.  
  
Grarl lifted up his battleaxe and slammed it on the pink goat splitting it in two and into the graveyard.  
  
"Well that doesn't help you from Mad Sword Beast's assault," Rex told Joey.  
  
Mad Sword Beast turned its head and swung the across the yellow goat and a force of gravity hit Joey directly for 2400 damage.  
  
"That ends my turn," Rex said.  
  
Joey: 5600  
  
Rex: 7250  
  
Ryan: 8000  
  
Mako: 8000  
  
Ryan's turn-  
  
Ryan drew his card, looked over at Rex's monsters, then at Mako's side of the field. "I play Makyura the Destructor (1600/1200) in attack mode and I'll have him attack one of your goats, Wheeler."  
  
As the triple-clawed dark warrior appeared, it turned to the left and leaped over to Joey's side of the field. It landed down and slashed the blue goat, sending it to the graveyard.  
  
"Hey!" Joey shouted. "What was that for?"  
  
Ryan ignored Joey and announced, "I'll end my turn."  
  
Mako's turn-  
  
"Well I can't rely on my Tornado Wall forever," Mako said drawing a card. "I play Giant Red Seasnake (1800/800) from Umi, his stats increase to 2300/1300 and I'll have him attack your monster, Ryan."  
  
As the red aqua monster appeared on the field, it dove into the water swimming towards Makyura. The Seasnake rose out from the water roaring at Makyura. It dove towards the dark warrior, devoured it whole and swam back to Mako's side of the field.  
  
"Thanks Mako," Ryan said smiling. "You activate Makyura's special ability. When he's sent to the graveyard, I can play a trap card from my hand.  
  
Ryan played the only card in his hand on an empty slot on the field and said, "And I'll play the trap card Sixth Sense!"  
  
As Ryan played the card he pulled out a dice and threw it to Joey. "Now I pick 2 numbers between one and six. You Joey roll the dice. If the dice lands on either of the numbers I picked, I draw that many cards. If I choose wrong, I discard that many cards from my deck equal to the number. I choose the numbers five and six. Now roll Joey."  
  
"Okay," Joey said as he caught the dice and rolled the dice.  
  
The dice hit the ground and rolled several times. When it stopped, it landed on a five.  
  
"All right," Ryan said drawing five cards. "Sixth Sense does work."  
  
"Then that ends my turn," Mako said.  
  
Joey: 5600  
  
Rex: 7250  
  
Ryan: 7300  
  
Mako: 8000  
  
Joey's turn-  
  
As Joey drew his card he looked at his hand then thought to himself, 'Why did Ryan destroy one of my scapegoats? Hey wait! That's why.'  
  
"Okay here I go," Joey said. "I first play Panther Warrior (2000/1600) in attack mode. Then, I'll play the magic card Graceful Dice."  
  
As Joey played the card, a little man with a winged top hat held a blue dice about twice as big as he was. Then the small man dropped the dice and it rolled several times. When it stopped it landed on a six.  
  
"All right!" Joey exclaimed. "That increases my Panther Warrior's attack to 2600/2200. And by sacrificing my scapegoat, I can have him attack. And I'll attack your Mad Sword Beast, Rex!"  
  
As the final red scapegoat's energy went into Panther Warrior's blade, the feral beast-warrior charged towards Rex's axe-horned dinosaur. As Panther Warrior arrived, it slashed Mad Sword Beast in two. Then the beast-warrior returned to Joey's side of the field.  
  
'I see what Ryan was doing,' Joey thought. 'My scapegoats are exactly what Raptor wanted. So Ryan got rid of one knowing it'd basically be a direct attack for Rex's trampling Dinos. So maybe he is trying to help me out.'  
  
"And I'll end my turn," Joey announced.  
  
Joey: 5600  
  
Rex: 7050  
  
Ryan: 7300  
  
Mako: 8000  
  
Rex's turn-  
  
As Rex drew his card, he seemed really secure, "This is gonna hurt. The ice age was unlivable for dinosaurs and it's no place for you either, Stone. I play Cold Wave!"  
  
As Rex played the magic card, everyone's magic and trap cards were covered in ice.  
  
"Until my next turn, none of us can set or play magic or trap cards. And now I'll attack your life points directly, Stone. Go Grarl, Battleaxe Assault!" Rex shouted as his tyrannosaurus charged towards Ryan, slamming his axe into him for 3000 points of direct damage.  
  
"That ends my turn," Rex said smugly.  
  
Joey: 5600  
  
Rex: 7050  
  
Ryan: 4300  
  
Mako: 8000  
  
Ryan's turn-  
  
Ryan drew his card giving him six, but with Rex's Cold Wave in effect, a multitude of his cards were unusable. He looked at the cards in his hand and wondered on what to do... 


	24. The First Preliminary Match Part II

"Could you hurry up, already?" Rex said impatiently on Ryan who had been thinking of what to do for about four minutes.  
  
"Don't rush me," Ryan said looking at his cards then finally made a decision. "I play Thunder Nyan Nyan (1900/900) in attack mode and from Umi, her stats are raised to 2400/1400."  
  
As the female electric drummer appeared, she began playing a tune on her drums.  
  
"Now Thunder Nyan Nyan, attack Mako's seasnake, Electro Shockwave!" Ryan shouted.  
  
The drummer obeyed and slammed her drumsticks on one drum unleashing a sound wave of electric energy directly towards Mako's Giant Red Seasnake but as it did, Mako's Tornado Wall took effect surrounding him in a thick barrier of wind. The electric wave of energy hit Mako's monster scorching it but it did no damage to Mako's life points.  
  
"Thanks to Tornado Wall, no matter how strong the damage is dealt to me I will feel none of it." Mako said as the Tornado Wall faded.  
  
"Since there's nothing else I can do, I'll end my turn." Ryan said.  
  
Mako's turn-  
  
As Mako drew his card, he said, "I'll play one card face down in defense mode and I'll end my turn."  
  
Joey's turn-  
  
As Joey drew his card, he looked at his hand and thought to himself, 'Warrior Dai Grepher, Polymerization, and Baby Dragon... hmm.  
  
"Are you finished, Wheeler?" Rex asked. "Grarl's hungry for some panther!"  
  
"Alright Rex," Joey said. "I play one magic or trap card face down and I'll play one card face down in defense mode, ending my turn."  
  
Rex's turn-  
  
"Nice defensive strategy Wheeler..." Rex said drawing his card. "But you forgot to put your Panther Warrior to defense mode!"  
  
'That's right, attack my monster..." Joey thought.  
  
"First I'll play one card face down..." Rex began, "And I'll have Grarl attack with Battleaxe Assault!"  
  
As Rex's Tyrannosaur lifted up his axe, he charged towards Joey's feral beast-warrior and as he was about to strike Panther Warrior down, Joey acted.  
  
"I activate, Chained Boomerang!" Joey said flipping the card he played on his first turn as a steel boomerang held by a chain tied around Panther Warrior's right arm materialized. "Not only does that increase my Panther Warrior's attack by 2500, but it also switches your Grarl to defense mode."  
  
As the chain was about to ensnare Rex's axe-wielding tyrannosaurus, it was his turn to react.  
  
"Sorry Joey," Rex said flipping his face down card. "I activate Seven Tools of the Bandit! By paying 1000 life points, I can negate and destroy a trap card. So say goodbye to your Chained Boomerang!"  
  
It was so. Before the chain could bind Guardian Grarl, it faded from the field and sent to the graveyard. As it faded, Grarl continued with his attack axing Panther Warrior, splitting his torso in two before vanishing from the field.  
  
'Aw man,' Joey thought. 'I forgot. Rex is using traps to give his dinosaurs more defense. He might have something else up his sleeve.'  
  
"That'll end my turn," Rex said.  
  
Joey: 4600  
  
Rex: 6050  
  
Ryan: 4300  
  
Mako: 8000  
  
Ryan's turn-  
  
"Well Mako," Ryan said to him drawing his card. "Your Tornado Wall's comin down. I play Mystical Space Typhoon, destroying Umi and when it goes to the graveyard, so does Tornado Wall."  
  
A mighty wind came down and blew away Mako's field card on the field causing the entire field to dry up of water and what remained was Rex's Wasteland.  
  
"You like direct attacks, right Rex?" Ryan asked him. "Well I first play Drillago (1600/1100) in attack mode. Having a non-light monster on the field sends Thunder Nyan Nyan to the graveyard And with his effect, he can attack my opponent's life points directly if they control all face up monsters and they have 1600 or more attack points. So Rex, I'll attack you directly for 1600. Go Drillago, Drill Tunnel!"  
  
As Thunder Nyan Nyan faded from the field and to the graveyard, Ryan's drill-clad machine obeyed as the drills all over its body whirred as it dug deep into the ground. When it arose from the ground, it was behind Rex's Guardian Grarl. The machine struck Rex with a drill punch to his chest for 1600 direct damage. After it attacked, it entered the tunnel and returned to Ryan's side of the field.  
  
"I'll end my turn now," Ryan said pretty content.  
  
Joey: 4600  
  
Rex: 5450  
  
Ryan: 4300  
  
Mako: 8000  
  
Mako's turn-  
  
"I'm not sure why you're so happy," Mako said drawing his card. "You should've attacked while you had the chance."  
  
"Is that so?" Ryan asked him.  
  
"Yes and you'll see right here," Mako said. "I first play Aqua Madoor (1200/2000) in attack mode and I'll flip my face down monster, Island Turtle. And now I'll play the ritual card, Turtle Oath!"  
  
As Mako played the ritual card, Aqua Madoor and Island Turtle faded and left their souls behind. Their souls were placed into an odd spherical, hard-shelled relic and were placed in a small stream. The stream carried out of the duel and it seemed to have left with out a trace. But that was far from the truth. Seconds later, a huge wave arrived hitting the wasteland. When the water vanished, what remained was an enormous crustacean with two powerful claws and protected in a hard shell.  
  
"It summons Crab Turtle (2550/2500)!" Mako proclaimed. "But I'm not yet finished. I'll play the field card, Umiiruka!"  
  
As Mako played his second field card, the ocean returned and every duelist was on their own portion of a wasteland island. However this ocean wasn't as gentle as Umi. Powerful waves rose up all around and showed now signs of stopping. Mako's Crab Turtle quickly left the island and entered the raging ocean and was strong enough to endure the waves.  
  
"From the new Duelist Kingdom rules, Umiiruka will raise all Water monsters' attack by 750 and decrease their defense by 500." Mako said. "That makes Crab Turtle 3300/2000. Now, Crab Turtle. Attack Ryan's Drillago, Torrent Claw!"  
  
As waves rose up, Mako's Crab Turtle swam through the water. A big wave gathered at Ryan's side of the field and in the wave was Crab Turtle, ready to attack. As the wave crashed along Ryan's portion of the field, Crab Turtle took Drillago with him and dismantled him with his mighty claws. The remains of Drillago sunk to the bottom of the sea and into the graveyard.  
  
"That ends my turn," Mako said.  
  
Joey: 4600  
  
Rex: 5450  
  
Ryan: 2600  
  
Mako: 8000  
  
Joey's turn-  
  
'Oh man,' Joey thought. 'Now Mako's got a tough monster out and he hasn't even lost a life point yet. I could attack Rex's dinosaur, but that'd leave me open for Mako's monster. Agh, what to do?'  
  
When Joey drew his card, his answers were solved.  
  
"Yes!" he shouted. "I'll first flip my face down card, Baby Dragon (1200/700) in attack mode. And I'll play Time Wizard (500/400)!"  
  
As his face down card revealed the youthfulness of Baby Dragon, Time Wizard appeared in between Panther Warrior and Baby Dragon.  
  
"If Time Roulette lands on a Time Machine, it'll wipe out everyone but my monsters on the field. But if you think that's worse, it'll also turn my Baby Dragon into a powerful Thousand Dragon. Now spin, Time Roulette!" Joey said to his Time Wizard.  
  
The spellcaster of time obeyed and the arrow on his wand began to rotate clockwise.  
  
Rex had felt the pain from Time Wizard before, and it was what defeated him in his duel with Joey. From this memory Rex got nervous.  
  
As it continued to spin, it showed no signs of slowing down. But after ten more seconds, it slowed down and as the arrow stopped and landed on a...  
  
"Skull?!" Joey shouted in horror as he saw his plan backfire.  
  
"Skull!" Rex shouted in joy at the same time Joey shouted.  
  
Time Wizard did its lesser effect. A hole in time appeared above Joey's monsters and all three of them were sucked in and sent to the graveyard and half of their total attack was deducted from Joey's life points.  
  
"No..." Joey said as his life points plunged by 1800 and he was open for a direct attack. "I'll end my turn."  
  
Joey: 2800  
  
Rex: 5450  
  
Ryan: 2600  
  
Mako: 8000  
  
Rex's turn-  
  
"Well Wheeler," Rex began as he drew his card. "Looks like you're not the luckiest person after all. I only need one more dinosaur to really wipe you out  
  
When Rex looked at his card, he responded, "Damn, looks like you still have some luck."  
  
Joey let out a sigh of relief from what he heard.  
  
"Well I guess I could just wipe you out with Grarl," Rex said. "I'll switch him to attack mode and..."  
  
'Oh no!' Joey screamed in his mind. 'What do I do? What do I do!? All's I got face down is Polymerization! That can't help me! I'm outta the tournament! What do I do!? What do I—that's it!"  
  
"Go Guardian Grarl!" Rex shouted. "Attack Wheeler! Wipe him out, Battleaxe Assault!"  
  
As the Tyrannosaurus obeyed and lifted up his axe and running through the waters of Umiiruka to axe Joey out of the tournament.  
  
Joey smirked and said, "You sure you want to attack?"  
  
Joey placed his right hand on the face down card as if to about to activate Polymerization as if it was a trap card.  
  
"What's that?" Rex asked.  
  
"I can't say that's a smart move," Joey said. "But if you like getting booted out of the tournament during the preliminaries, go ahead. Attack me."  
  
Grarl was almost out of the raging waves of Umiiruka and ready to chop Joey up.  
  
"Nice try Wheeler," Rex said smugly. "That's the lamest trick in the book."  
  
"Good for you Raptor," Joey told him. "Trust your instincts over common sense."  
  
Rex began to go through a battle of decisions in his mind.  
  
"I'm going with my instincts," Rex said. "Later Wheeler. See you next tournament."  
  
Joey sighed and pulled the card out of the slot to activate the card.  
  
"Wait!!!" Rex shouted. "Grarl! Stop!"  
  
As Grarl was about swing his axe towards Joey's neck. He stopped an inch before hitting Joey.  
  
"Phew," Rex said sighing with relief.  
  
'I can't believe that worked," Joey thought looking at the card he faked to pull out. 'Dai Grepher, you just saved my ass.'  
  
"Instead," Rex announced. "I'll attack you, Stone. Go Guardian Grarl, attack Stone directly!"  
  
The axe-wielding Tyrannosaur turned towards Ryan and charged at him through the water to hit him at full force.  
  
"Sorry Raptor," Ryan said activating his trap before Rex could stop. "I activate my trap card, Negate Attack!"  
  
When Grarl arrived and struck his axe at Ryan, a dimension sucked in the blade twisting it around, and negating the attack. Hence the name of the trap card.  
  
"Then I'll end my turn," Rex said frustratingly.  
  
Ryan's turn-  
  
When Ryan drew his card and looked at it, he wasn't worried at all by Mako's monster.  
  
"I play Satellite Cannon (0/0) in attack mode," Ryan said placing another machine card on the field.  
  
As soon as Ryan placed the card on the field, a space shuttle appeared. It was launched high into the sky carrying with it a large piece of metal cargo.  
  
The metal cargo was released and it began to unravel. Four long metal poles extended out and from them unleashed solar panels. It began to stretch and extend forming a point at the end. In the middle of the machine two long metal panels extended out and began rotating. The point of the device opened up forming a cannon. It orbited high in the sky, out of reach of most anything.  
  
'Hey, I remember that card,' Joey thought. 'Kaiba had to take on that machine when we were dueling the Big 5. And its power gets stronger after each turn.'  
  
"And I'll end my turn," Ryan said. "But each time I end my turn, Satellite Cannon's attack increases by 1000."  
  
Mako's turn-  
  
As Mako drew his card, he pondered on who to attack.  
  
'Joey doesn't have any monsters but who knows what that face down card could be. However I can't let that Satellite Cannon get any stronger,' Mako thought.  
  
"Okay," Mako said firm on his decision. "I'll send Crab Turtle to attack... you Ryan. Attack his Satellite Cannon, Crab Turtle! Torrent Claw!"  
  
Crab Turtle dove into the raging ocean and generated a whirlpool. The whirlpool was so powerful it took up the entire dueling arena. Crab Turtle used the powerful momentum and shot out of the ocean and into the sky. As the enormous crustacean closed in on Satellite Cannon, he prepared his claws to bring the ship down and dismantle it.  
  
"I don't think so," Ryan said flipping his last face down card. "I'll activate Magic Cylinder, sending your attack right back at you for 3300 direct damage."  
  
As Crab Turtle arrived into the stratosphere it was taking a nonstop course towards Satellite Cannon. However, a large cylinder leading into darkness sucked Crab Turtle in. Then, another cylinder appeared pointing down towards Mako. The second cylinder unleashed Crab Turtle and he fell like a meteor down on Mako for a devastating 3300 direct damage.  
  
Crab Turtle survived the blow and went into the ocean and felt restored.  
  
"You'll pay for that," Mako said to Ryan. "And I'll end my turn."  
  
Joey: 2800  
  
Rex: 5450  
  
Ryan: 2600  
  
Mako: 4700  
  
Joey's turn-  
  
"Okay time for me to get the ball rolling," Joey said drawing his card. "I play Pot of Greed. Now I'll draw two more cards and..."  
  
The first card Joey drew was Blast with Chain. The second card he drew was Spirit Ryu (1000/1000) but that made him think to himself, 'Spirit Ryu? Why'd I put this in here? I don't have that many dragons in my deck. I must've put in by mistake. Hey wait! I think Dai Grepher and Spirit Ryu are used in something. But I can't remember what. Was it a fusion? Well time to try it out.'  
  
"Alright," Joey began, "I flip my face down card, Polymerization. And I'll fuse the two monsters in my hand, Warrior Dai Grepher and Spirit Ryu!"  
  
The fusion was successful and the two cards appeared on the field and Spirit Ryu merged with Dai Grepher. The result looked like Dai Grepher but his head and shoulders were covered by Spirit Ryu as a form of armor.  
  
"The result makes Ryu Senshi," Ryan told Joey. "It's a 2000/1200."  
  
"Good enough for me," Joey said. "And I'll end my turn playing one card face down."  
  
Rex's turn-  
  
As Rex drew his card, he was in a moment of deep thought.  
  
"Okay," he began. "I'll have Guardian Grarl attack your Ryu Senshi, Wheeler! Battle Axe Assault!"  
  
As the humanoid tyrannosaur lifted up his axe and charged towards Joey's dragon warrior.  
  
"Well at least I won't have as much life points lost," Joey said activating his trap card. "But I activate Blast with Chain, increasing his attack by 2500."  
  
As several sticks of dynamite tied together by a chain materialized on Ryu Senshi's right forearm, he quickly tore it off. Suddenly the fuse on the stick of dynamite was lit.  
  
"Either you're a great strategist," Ryan told Joey. "Or a lucky fool."  
  
"What do you mean?" Joey asked.  
  
"When Blast with Chain is destroyed by a card effect, it can destroy any card on the field," Ryan told him.  
  
"But what card effect?" Joey asked.  
  
Ryan hit his forehead, "Ryu Senshi can't be equipped with any Equip Magic cards. They're automatically destroyed."  
  
"Oh cool," Joey said then turned his attention to Rex. "With Blast with Chain's effect, I'll destroy Guardian Grarl."  
  
As Grarl was close to Ryu Senshi, the dragon warrior threw the stick of dynamite at the axe wielding Tyrannosaur. It hit Grarl on the chest and seconds later exploded with a cloud of smoke. When the smoke cleared, Grarl was nowhere to be found.  
  
"Damn it," Rex said placing one of his strongest cards to the graveyard. "I'll end my turn."  
  
Ryan's turn-  
  
Ryan drew his card and knew exactly what to do.  
  
"I'll play two cards face down, and I'll bring out Reflect Bounder (1700/1000) in attack mode," Ryan announced. "And I'll have it attack your life points directly, Rex."  
  
As the mirrored machine appeared on the field, the mirror on its chest fired a blinding white blast of light directly at Rex.  
  
"Then I'll end my turn," Ryan said. "And as I do, Satellite Cannon's power rises to 2000."  
  
Joey: 2800  
  
Rex: 3750  
  
Ryan: 2600  
  
Mako: 4700  
  
Mako's turn-  
  
"Your Satellite Cannon's power stops here," Mako said drawing his card. "I'll play Mystical Space Typhoon, to destroy the first card you played face down."  
  
As Mako played his magic card, a great wind emerged from the sky and destroyed Ryan's Limiter Removal.  
  
"Aw damn it," Ryan groaned sending the magic card to the graveyard.  
  
"That would've made your monsters untouchable by Crab Turtle," Mako said. "But not any more. Now I'll destroy your Satellite Cannon with Crab Turtle. Go Crab Turtle! Torrent Claw!"  
  
Crab Turtle dove deep in the water again and generated a powerful whirlpool. As Crab Turtle launched itself out of the water, it shot towards Satellite Cannon.  
  
"Activate Trap Card," Ryan said activating his last face down card. "Shift!"  
  
As Crab Turtle continued towards Satellite Cannon, it vanished and was replaced by Reflect Bounder.  
  
"Oh no!" Mako shouted.  
  
As Crab Turtle pulled back its claws to strike, Reflect Bounder acted first by creating a mirror image of Crab Turtle. The mirror image plunged down and struck Mako directly for 3300 damage. The original Crab Turtle clamped on to Reflect Bounder and ripped it up, turning it into scrap metal. Then Crab Turtle landed back in the waves of Umiiruka, unharmed.  
  
"I'll end my turn," Mako said in deep frustration.  
  
Joey: 2800  
  
Rex: 3750  
  
Ryan: 1000  
  
Mako: 1400  
  
Joey's turn-  
  
'Man,' Joey thought to himself. 'Ryan's always has got somethin' up his sleeve.'  
  
Then Joey drew his card and smirked over to Rex.  
  
"I'll play one card face down, and you have no monsters to defend you." Joey stated obviously. "Go Ryu Senshi, attack Rex directly. Dragon Blade Slash!"  
  
The dragon warrior gripped his sword tightly and ran through the waters and arrived over to Rex. The warrior then virtually slashed Rex across the chest for 2000 direct damage.  
  
"Your turn," Joey told Rex.  
  
Joey: 2800  
  
Rex: 1750  
  
Ryan: 1000  
  
Mako: 1400  
  
Rex's turn-  
  
When Rex drew his card, he began laughing.  
  
"Hey what's so funny?" Joey asked.  
  
"I now hold in my hand the strongest Dinosaur in my deck!" Rex told him. "I'll first play Guranadora (1900/1700) in attack mode."  
  
A reptilian monster with several spikes protruding out of its back and huge fangs out of its mouth.  
  
"As soon as he's summoned, I gain 1000 life points to put me at 2750," Rex said. "But here's what's gonna be the beginning of your defeat, Wheeler! I play the magic card, Super Evolution Medicine and by sacrificing a reptile on my side of the field, I can bring out a Dinosaur from my hand. And I'll bring out Dark Tyrano (2600/1800) in attack mode!"  
  
As soon as Rex played Super Evolution Medicine, Guranadora began to evolve. The spikes on its body sunk in to its bones and its brown pigment changed to black. Its feet and legs grew several feet higher; its tail extended and was about nine feet long, its bladelike arms turned into small claws, but its head changed with massive jaws and teeth to rip its opponent to shreds. Several purple marks appeared all over but black was still the primary color. When the evolution ended, the result was a tyrannosaurus rex.  
  
"Behold my Dark Tyrano!" Rex shouted with pride. "Now Dark Tyrano, attack Wheeler's Ryu Senshi, go get your dinner!"  
  
The tyrannosaurus obeyed and charged towards Joey's Dragon Warrior to wipe out the last of his monsters...  
  
NOTE: As you all may have read, I used the show's way of summoning Thousand Dragon. It isn't really fun to just fuse two monsters together, unlike the heart pounding fate of Time Roulette.  
  
Also, the show seems to have the characters play fusion monsters but they just seem to appear and don't get the actual fusion cards out of their fusion decks. If they have any of the actual fusion cards, the show has a hard time of showing it. 


	25. The First Preliminary Match Part III

Rex's powerful dinosaur, Black Tyrano (2600/1800) closed in on Joey's Ryu Senshi (2000/1200) to devour it...  
  
And it did. The black tyrannosaurus bit Ryu Senshi placing the dragon warrior's upper body in its mouth. Then Rex's dinosaur lifted up Joey's warrior and shook its upper body several times. When it stopped, Ryu Senshi's legs swayed from the momentum. Then for a grim finale, Black Tyrano slid the soon-to-be-digested Ryu Senshi down its throat and into its stomach. The black thunder lizard king roared in its victory towards Joey.  
  
"Plus from the Wasteland, Black Tyrano's attack rises to 3100," Rex said with a tone of pride. "So you lose 1100 life points! I'll end my turn. Good luck recovering, Wheeler!"  
  
Joey: 1700  
  
Rex: 2750  
  
Ryan: 1000  
  
Mako: 1400  
  
Ryan's turn-  
  
As Ryan drew his card, and began thinking over on what to do. He first looked at Rex's Black Tyrano and then at Mako's Crab Turtle. Then, he got an idea.  
  
"I'll play one card face down..." he began. "Now I'll play Monster Reborn, reviving Granadora (1900/700) in defense mode."  
  
The brown spiked reptile arose from the graveyard and was now on Ryan's side of the field.  
  
"That'll give me 1000 more life points, putting me at 2000," Ryan said. "And I'll end my turn."  
  
Joey: 1700  
  
Rex: 2750  
  
Ryan: 2000  
  
Mako: 1400  
  
Mako's turn-  
  
"You really didn't think out that turn, did you?" Mako asked Ryan, drawing his card. "Once Granadora is destroyed and sent to the graveyard, you'll lose 2000 life points, putting you to zero. Once my Crab Turtle destroys it, you'll lose the rest of your life points. Go Crab Turtle! Attack Granadora, Torrent Claw!"  
  
Mako's thick-shelled crustacean dove into the water and began riding a huge wave towards Ryan. Crab Turtle raised up his claw about to strike Granadora down...  
  
"I'll activate Poison of the Old Man!" Ryan shouted activating his Quick- play magic card.  
  
A hooded old man appeared holding two vials in each hand: one green and one purple. The old man hurled the purple vial towards Ryan, hitting the ground and turning into a purple cloud smoke. The smoke replenished his life points by 1200. As soon as that was done, the hooded old man let out a slight chuckle and vanished from the field.  
  
Crab Turtle's attack crushed Granadora and the defeated reptile was buried into the ocean.  
  
"Normally, I would have lost the duel by losing 2000 life points," Ryan said. "But from Poison of the Old Man I gained 1200 life points, putting me at 3200. But since Granadora was destroyed, I lost 2000 life points, putting me at 1200."  
  
"Very well," Mako said. "I'll end my turn."  
  
Joey: 1700  
  
Rex: 2750  
  
Ryan: 1200  
  
Mako: 1400  
  
Joey's turn-  
  
'I could really use a good card right now...' Joey thought slowly reaching for his next card.  
  
He closed his eyes and placed his hand on the card.  
  
As Joey drew the card, he looked at it and sighed with relief.  
  
"I play Pot of Greed, letting me draw two more cards," Joey said drawing the two cards.  
  
'Come on,' Joey thought to his deck. 'Give me something good...'  
  
As Joey drew the cards he looked to them and smiled.  
  
"Yes!" he shouted. "I'll play one magic or trap card face down and I'll play Meteor Dragon (1800/2000) in defense mode ending my turn."  
  
Rex's turn-  
  
"You must be desperate to rely on your traps Wheeler," Rex said drawing his card. "But my Black Tyrano's got a special ability. He can attack your life points directly if you control nothing but monsters in defense mode. Say so long to your life points! Go Black Tyrano!"  
  
The black tyrannosaurus charged towards Joey with its jaws open ready to wipe him out.  
  
"Not so fast," Joey said activating his trap card. "I activate Fairy Box!"  
  
A whack-a-mole machine appeared, covering up Joey. Suddenly, Joey began popping his head out of different holes.  
  
"What the...?" Rex questioned at Joey.  
  
"Now it's all a game of chance," Joey told Rex.  
  
Rex's Black Tyrano dove its jaws towards a hole that Joey popped out of. A cloud of smoke appeared as the black-pigmented tyrannosaur attacked the hole. When the smoke cleared, Black Tyrano looked around for Joey but he wasn't there.  
  
Joey was in the hole right next to Black Tyrano.  
  
"Nice try Raptor," Joey told him. "That means I don't lose any life points!"  
  
"Grr..." Rex growled in anger. "I'll end my turn."  
  
Ryan's turn-  
  
As soon as Ryan drew his card he told the three of the duelists, "I think I'll help everyone out. I play Card of Sanctity, making us all draw until we have six cards in our hand."  
  
Ryan, Joey, Rex and Mako each drew the said amount of cards and each held six cards.  
  
Joey was especially excited at the six cards in his hand.  
  
Ryan sighed at his hand and continued his turn.  
  
"Well, I'll put two magic or trap cards face down, and play Iron Demon Viser Death (500/1200) in defense mode," Ryan said as the mechanical armor.  
  
Suddenly, the machine shot towards Crab Turtle and accommodated Mako's thick-shelled crustacean head and tightened around it.  
  
"What's it doing to my Crab Turtle?" Mako asked.  
  
"Until my third standby phase after Viser Death's been summoned he can't be destroyed," Ryan told Mako. "Also on that third standby phase, it'll destroy whatever monster it's attached to. But that's just the beginning of your troubles."  
  
"What do you mean?" Mako responded.  
  
"Forget about my Satellite Cannon?" Ryan asked. "Its attack power increases by 1000 at the end of each my turns. Right now its total attack is 3000 but after this, it will go up once more. That'll make him a 4000 attacker, the strongest card on the field. Your turn, Mako.  
  
Mako's turn-  
  
Mako was clearly worried as he drew his card, Viser Death let out several red bolts of electricity to his Crab Turtle. However the attack wasn't strong enough to kill. As he looked at his card, the worried expression on his face faded into a smirk.  
  
"All of your machines are done for," Mako said. "I play Tribe-Infecting Virus (1600/1000) in attack mode!"  
  
'I think I've seen that card before,' Joey thought looking on. 'Something about destroying monster types.'  
  
"By discarding one card from my hand, I can destroy all of one type of monster on the field," Mako said. "I believe I'll destroy all of the machines on the field."  
  
Mako sent a card to his card to the graveyard and shouted, "Go Tribe- Infecting Virus! Wipe out all machines, Mechanical Plague!"  
  
As the unseen virus shot throughout the field, it began infecting all the monsters but not affecting most of the monsters. Right when the virus passed through Crab Turtle and towards Viser Death, Ryan flipped his face down card.  
  
"Not so fast," Ryan said flipping his face down card. "I activate Skill Drain. By paying 1000 life points, all effects on every face-up monsters are now negated."  
  
"Aw damn it," Rex said. "My Black Tyrano's effect can't work."  
  
"Well, I don't want to risk losing against Fairy Box to Joey, so I'll switch my Crab Turtle (3300/2000) and end my turn," Mako said.  
  
Joey: 1700  
  
Rex: 2750  
  
Ryan: 200  
  
Mako: 1400  
  
Joey's turn-  
  
When Joey drew his card, he knew what to do.  
  
"All right time for me to kick some butt," Joey said. "First, I won't pay for Fairy Box, so it's destroyed. Now I play the magic card, Question. Quiz time, Rex. What was the first monster card put in my graveyard?"  
  
As if from a game show, a door appeared with a question mark depicted on the front of it and cheesy game show music began playing.  
  
Rex was dumbstruck. He had no clue what it was.  
  
"Uh... Garoozis?" Rex guessed.  
  
"Close but no cigar!" Joey replied. "It was Gearfried the Iron Knight (1800/1600). Since you called it wrong, he's summoned from the graveyard.  
  
The question-marked door opened up and out walked the Iron Knight. As he walked out, canned applause and cheers came out. After Gearfried stood beside Meteor Dragon, the door and the game show effects vanished.  
  
"And now I'll play Chosen One," Joey said. "By playing one monster card and two non-monster cards from my hand, the selector will randomly choose one. If it picks the monster, it can be summoned without a sacrifice."  
  
Suddenly, three cards appeared in a triangular position. In the center of the cards appeared a top with a grinning demon on it. Suddenly, the top spun around clockwise very fast.  
  
"As soon as it stops, whichever card the demon head picks will decide the fate of this duel," Joey said.  
  
After 30 seconds of the top spinning, it began to slow down. Slower and slower until it finally stopped. The demon head looked on at one of the cards and its red eyes gleamed white as the card arose and was revealed to be...  
  
"Yeah! Emerald Dragon!" Joey exclaimed placing the other two cards in the graveyard. "Now I can summon the mighty Emerald Dragon (2400/1400), without having to sacrifice it."  
  
Suddenly, a dragon with beautiful emerald covered scales appeared on the other side of Joey's Meteor Dragon.  
  
"Now I'll sacrifice my Meteor Dragon to bring out... Red-Eyes Black Dragon (2400/2000)!" Joey proclaimed bringing out his favorite dragon card.  
  
The black dragon let out a roar towards Rex, its former master, as it landed in between Emerald Dragon and Gearfried.  
  
Rex gasped at the sight of his old dragon.  
  
"So you've been taking care of my dragon, huh?" Rex asked.  
  
"You better believe it," Joey answered. "This dragon has helped me out countless times."  
  
"But did you forget something?" Rex asked. "As strong as your monsters are, my Black Tyrano has 3100 attack power. Stronger than all of your monsters."  
  
"You're right about one thing," Joey told the dinosaur duelist. "Alone, my monsters aren't strong enough to beat your Black Tyrano. But together, they have more than enough power. I'll play this card, United We Stand on Red- Eyes!"  
  
As Joey played the last card in his hand, Gearfried, Emerald Dragon and Red- Eyes gave off a golden luminescence. Gearfried's and Emerald Dragon's luminescence went towards Red-Eyes to power him up even further.  
  
"United We Stand increases the equipped monster's attack by 800 for each face up monster on my side of the field," Joey said. "So that'll double Red- Eyes' attack making his attack 4800!"  
  
"Oh no!" Rex shouted.  
  
"Oh yes..." Joey said tasting victory. "Go Red-Eyes! Attack Rex's Black Tyrano! Inferno Fire Blast!"  
  
The golden gleaming black dragon gathered energy in its mouth and fired a devastating fireball towards Rex's black tyrannosaurus. The attack reduced the thunder lizard king to dust taking with it 1700 of Rex's life points, leaving him with 1050.  
  
"Now to finish you off," Joey said. "Go Gearfried! Wipe out the last of Rex's life points! Iron Blade Strike!"  
  
The metallic knight happily obeyed taking a great leap and coming down on Rex stabbing him with his pointed shield, wiping out the last of his life points.  
  
"Aw Damn..." Rex said as his life point gauge to zero.  
  
Suddenly, Rex fell to his knees and his side of the field blacked out, his wasteland field card vanished from the field and what was left was Mako's raging waters of Umiiruka.  
  
"And I'm not yet finished," Joey said. "I'll attack your Tribe-Infecting Virus, Mako with Emerald Dragon. Emerald Blaze!"  
  
His emerald-scaled dragon nodded in affirmation then breathed in and exhaled a wave of green flames towards the omni-affecting virus. The virus had no chance and was reduced to green cinders.  
  
Joey: 1700  
  
Rex: 0  
  
Ryan: 200  
  
Mako: 1350  
  
"Your turn, Ryan," Joey told him.  
  
Ryan's turn-  
  
Ryan drew his card while nodding to Joey.  
  
"Okay, this duel ends here," he said. "I'll play Fairy Meteor Crush on my Satellite Cannon."  
  
Mako closed his eyes and nodded, knowing he was done for.  
  
"Go Satellite Cannon! Attack Crab Turtle! Ion Cannon!" Ryan shouted.  
  
The orbiting satellite turned its direction towards Mako's defending crustacean. From Umiiruka, its defense was lowered to 2000, but it didn't matter.  
  
Satellite Cannon took aim and locked on target. Energy began gathering in the cannon hole. Then after a few more seconds of charging, it fired its power 4000 attack power laser but along its travel to the dueling field, a meteor got caught in the blast and came hurdling towards Crab Turtle.  
  
As strong as Crab Turtle was, it couldn't measure up and was crushed by the meteor and 2000 leftover damage hit Mako reducing his life points to zero.  
  
"This duel's over," Ryan said.  
  
Joey let out a heavy sigh and said, "Whew! That was intense."  
  
Mako's field had vanished and Rex's side of the field lit up once more. They were in the pure white room again.  
  
"That was an excellent duel," Mako said.  
  
"Yeah..." Rex said, disappointed on his loss.  
  
"Well I dueled both of you guys and neither of you were as tough as this," Joey said.  
  
"Yeah, you guys were tough," Ryan said. "If it wasn't for Joey's luck, I'd probably never have gotten my Satellite Cannon that high."  
  
"Thanks," Joey said. "Hey, you aren't so bad after all."  
  
"Yeah well it took some getting used to," Ryan said. "Not used to getting help."  
  
"Oh and as part of our agreement, the losers ante up once card for each of the winners," Mako said taking out his deck from his Duel Disk. "Go ahead, take what you want."  
  
"I'm a man of my word," Rex said also taking out his deck and presenting it to Joey and Ryan.  
  
"From Mako, I'll take Tribe-Infecting Virus," Ryan said.  
  
"And I'll take Crab Turtle," Joey said.  
  
"Very well," Mako said taking out two of his strongest cards, looking at them one last time then giving them to the two winners. "Here you are."  
  
Then, Mako took out another card and said to Joey, "It might be hard to summon Crab Turtle without Turtle Oath."  
  
"Thanks Mako," Joey said taking the card.  
  
"Okay from Rex, I'll take... Guardian Grarl," Ryan said.  
  
Rex sighed and gave him his Tyrannosaur humanoid, "You might need Gravity Axe, too."  
  
"Thanks," Ryan said taking the two cards.  
  
"I'll take Black Tyrano," Joey said.  
  
"Here," Rex said giving him his strongest card.  
  
"Don't worry, I'll take good care of your cards," Joey told the two as he slipped the three cards in his deck.  
  
Ryan nodded with Joey also placing the cards in his deck.  
  
"You'd better," Mako and Rex said in unison.  
  
They each shook hands and were happy on the excellent duel.  
  
As they walked towards the exit, Ryan opened the door for them ready to see what people's reactions would be... 


	26. The Second Preliminary Match Part I

As soon as Rex, Mako, Joey and Ryan entered the door, Yugi had hoped for Joey's victory.  
  
'You can win Joey,' Yugi thought. 'I know you can.'  
  
"As you may or may not know," Croquet told the remaining duelists. "These preliminary duels shall all take place during the same time."  
  
"Now for the four duelists to be dueling behind Door II," the suit holding the clipboard said. "Mai Kujaku..."  
  
Mai smiled and walked towards the door marked with the Roman numeral II.  
  
"Colette Thibodeaux..."  
  
The refined female duelist let out a slight smile as she walked towards the door. She had long blonde hair that shined in the light; her eyes were a deep sea blue most men could get lost in. She Mai's smile, however was even bigger knowing she was dueling the duelist she so detested.  
  
"Yugi Muto..."  
  
Yugi took a deep breath in readiness.  
  
'I may not have Yami with me,' Yugi thought as he walked to the door while holding a bag with the shattered Millennium Puzzle. 'But I know I can hold my own.'  
  
"...and Kurt Schneider."  
  
Mai's smile had faded to a worried expression. Kurt however was grinning ear to ear from this. Kurt was fairly tall standing about six feet tall, his black hair had several bangs hang in front, and he had dark brown eyes so dark they looked black. He was wearing a brown t-shirt covering a white long-sleeved shirt and black short pants.  
  
'Oh no,' Mai thought to herself. 'How am I supposed to take on two duelists at once?'  
  
As Kurt walked towards the door, he passed by a suit who slipped him something and whispered in his ear.  
  
'What was that?' Yugi thought, watching what happened.  
  
As the four duelists approached the door, Kurt opened the door for the other three duelists. Colette smiled to Kurt as she entered in first, Mai scowled at Kurt and he smirked at her. But as Yugi passed by Kurt, Kurt let out a chuckle. As Yugi entered, Kurt walked in and shut the door. As soon as it closed, it locked automatically.  
  
The room was pure white and shaped in a perfect cube. It looked very odd.  
  
"This is going to be an excellent duel," the German champion duelist said walking to a far corner off to the right.  
  
"Yes I hope for a fun duel," Colette said walking to the corner across from Kurt.  
  
Mai, still annoyed by Colette took the remaining far corner, leaving Yugi with the last corner.  
  
"By the way Muto," Kurt said to Yugi. "If you lose this duel, you'll have to give up your Egyptian God Card."  
  
"How do you know about Egyptian God Cards?!" Yugi gasped.  
  
"If you must know, I was given a one-of-a-kind card," Kurt told him. 'If I defeat you, it's mine to keep.'  
  
"I can't believe you'd stoop as low as to work for Salazar," Mai said.  
  
"Quiet you," the German duelist told her. "You're lucky that I'm going to focus on Muto because I could crush you and your pathetic harpies."  
  
"You really think one card will beat me?" Yugi asked Kurt.  
  
"I'm sure I won't even need to use it against you. But beating you has its rewards. I may have placed third in the World Championships, but I would be considered the best if I beat you."  
  
"You're awfully sure of yourself. Very well, I'll put my Egyptian God Card up but you have to put up your rare card as well."  
  
Kurt scoffed, "Fine. But you have no chance at beating my cards."  
  
"Let's duel!" the four duelists said activating their Duel Disks as their life points rose to 8000.  
  
"Ladies first," Colette said drawing an additional card. "I play Mystical Elf (800/2000) in defense mode ending my turn.  
  
As the blue-skinned elf appeared, she began chanting something.  
  
"I'll go next," Mai said drawing a card. "I play Cyber Harpie (1800/1300) in attack mode and I'll play two magic or trap cards face down, ending my turn."  
  
The armored Harpie materialized on the field and behind appeared two face down cards.  
  
"Now I'll go," Kurt said drawing a sixth card. "I'll play one card face down and summon X-Head Cannon (1800/1500) in attack mode, ending my turn."  
  
'X-Head Cannon?' Yugi thought. 'He must be trying to bring out the XYZ Dragon Cannon. I've taken it on before so I'm sure I can beat this one.'  
  
Yugi's turn-  
  
"Okay now it's my turn," Yugi said drawing his first card. "I'll play Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts (1500/1200) in attack mode and end my turn playing two magic or trap cards face down."  
  
The swift moving beast appeared roaring at its opposing duelists and two cards appeared behind him.  
  
Colette's turn-  
  
"My what an atrocious female monster you have," Colette said to Mai while drawing her card.  
  
"You're lucky it's not my turn," Mai said. "Otherwise I would've crushed that sissy defender of a card."  
  
"Crush this," the French duelist said playing her cards. "I'll play Rod of Silence giving my Mystical Elf 2500 defense and I'll play one card face down in defense mode ending my turn."  
  
A blue rod appeared in the chanting elf's hands as well as a card placed sideways right beside her.  
  
"Beat that," Colette shot at Mai.  
  
Mai's turn-  
  
Mai looked on at Colette's cards unimpressed.  
  
"That's a good defender you've got there," Mai began, drawing her card. "It's a shame your other card doesn't follow up."  
  
"What do you mean?" the French duelist asked.  
  
"I've noticed that duelists always put their weakest monsters face down," Mai said. "But yours is going to come out of hiding with my trap card, Shadow of Eyes."  
  
Colette gave out a gasp of fear as her face down card revealed her Unhappy Maiden (0/100).  
  
"Ooh, that's too bad," Mai said looking on at one of the weakest cards in the game. "It's going to hurt to play this. I play Elegant Egotist multiplying my Cyber Harpie into the Harpie Lady Sisters (1950/2100)!"  
  
The armored harpie had illuminated white and suddenly, two more harpie counterparts appeared on each side of the original harpie.  
  
"Now my Harpie Lady Sisters, attack Colette's Unhappy Maiden, Tri-Attack!" Mai shouted as her three Harpies formed triangle of pure energy then unleashing it at Colette's incredibly weak card.  
  
The attack atomized the spellcaster card and took 1950 life points from Colette.  
  
"That ends my turn," Mai announced to the other duelists.  
  
Colette: 6050  
  
Mai: 8000  
  
Kurt: 8000  
  
Yugi: 8000  
  
Kurt's turn-  
  
"Well it's time I dealt some damage as well," Kurt said, drawing his card. "I'll flip my face down card, Ultimate Offering. By paying 500 life points, I can normal summon another monster. First I'll summon Y-Dragon Head (1600/1500) in attack mode and with Ultimate Offering; I'll pay 500 life points to summon Z-Metal Tank (1500/1300) in attack mode!"  
  
'Oh, no!' Yugi thought. 'He's already assembled the three pieces of the XYZ- Dragon Cannon. I just needed one more turn to take it out. However that card can't be the one-of-a-kind card he was talking about.'  
  
"And now I'll fuse them together to create the almighty XYZ-Dragon Cannon!" the German duelist proclaimed as if he had already won the duel.  
  
His three machine monsters began their fusion. X-Head Cannon took a great leap into the air. Y-Dragon Head took flight increasing its altitude to be several feet underneath X-Head Cannon. Z-Metal Tank increased its speed to accommodate the speed of its faster-moving counterparts. Then, X-Head Cannon folded its legs in and landed on top of Y-Dragon Head and they magnetically connected. After that, Y-Dragon Head folded its wings in and dropped onto Z-Metal Tank and they were all magnetically connected and became one.  
  
"Behold, one of my greatest cards, the card that got me through almost all of my duels and even got me the title of the number three duelist in the world," Kurt said in pride. "The XYZ-Dragon Cannon (2800/2600) in defense mode!"  
  
The dragon portion of the Dragon Cannon roared at Yugi's Gazelle as if boasting its power.  
  
"Now I'll discard one card from my hand: Sinister Serpent, to the graveyard," Kurt said discarding the weak reptile card. "To activate my Dragon Cannon's special effect. I'll destroy the face down card on your right."  
  
XYZ-Dragon Cannon obeyed its master and the machineguns on the Z-Metal Tank portion fired many bullets towards the facedown card, creating a cloud of smoke. When the smoke cleared, the face down card was destroyed.  
  
"No, Mirror Force!" Yugi shouted as he sent one of his best trap cards to the graveyard.  
  
"Looks like my guess was right on," Kurt said to Yugi smugly, but then his face turned seriously. "Since I placed my Dragon Cannon is placed in defense mode, I can't have it attack this turn. So I'll play one card face down ending my turn."  
  
Colette: 6050  
  
Mai: 8000  
  
Kurt: 7500  
  
Yugi: 8000  
  
Yugi's turn-  
  
'Kurt's no amateur,' Yugi thought. 'He was sure that my other face down card would destroy his Dragon Cannon, so he placed it in defense mode. Well just bought me some time.'  
  
As soon as Yugi drew his card, he smiled.  
  
"All right, I summon Giant Soldier of Stone (1300/2000) in defense mode and switch Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts to defense mode as well," Yugi said as the big stone soldier appeared with its solid defense.  
  
Gazelle got down on its knees and crossed its arms to cover its face.  
  
"And that ends my turn," Yugi told Kurt.  
  
Colette's turn-  
  
"You'll pay for my Unhappy Maiden," Colette said to Mai while drawing her card. "I play two cards face down and I'll play one card face down in defense mode ending my turn."  
  
Mai's turn-  
  
"So you're still hiding from me?" Mai asked. "How very sad. I can't possibly see how you could be France's best duelist.  
  
When Mai drew her card she looked at it and let out a little laugh.  
  
"Colette hun," Mai began. "This duel will end much sooner than you think. I begin by playing Harpies Brother (1800/600) in attack mode and have him attack your face down card."  
  
As the red and brown winged beast appeared, it quickly took flight and drove its long triple-bladed claw into the face down card wiping it out.  
  
"Thank you Mai," Colette said to her. "That was my cute little Nimble Momonga (1000/100) you just destroyed. When it's destroyed as a result of battle, I gain 1000 life points and get to summon its too cute, two counterparts face down in defense mode."  
  
"Alright, you made it this turn," Mai told her. "I'll end my turn."  
  
Colette: 7050  
  
Mai: 8000  
  
Kurt: 7500  
  
Yugi: 8000  
  
Kurt's turn-  
  
"Well they seem to be kicking it off well," Kurt said to Yugi. "But let's separate our life points, shall we?"  
  
Yugi remained silent trying to keep as serious as he could towards Kurt.  
  
"Not talking? Fine by me," Kurt said drawing his card and as he did, the only card in his graveyard returned to his hand. "During each of my standby phases, if Sinister Serpent is in my graveyard, it returns to my hand."  
  
'Then that means he can continue using his Dragon Cannon's special effect and destroy my cards.' Yugi thought. 'Even if I destroyed his hand, it would still keep coming back. This is not good.'  
  
"So now I play one card face down in defense mode..." he began. "And I'll discard my Sinister Serpent to the graveyard and activate my Dragon Cannon's special ability again and I'll destroy your Giant Soldier of Stone."  
  
As the German duelist sent his reptile to the graveyard, his merged machine monster initiated its effect. This time, the Y-Dragon Head fired a blast of energy towards Yugi's stone soldier, reducing it to tiny pieces of gravel.  
  
"And I'll switch my XYZ-Dragon Cannon to attack mode and now Dragon Cannon, attack Gazelle. Total Annihilation!" Kurt shouted.  
  
Suddenly, all five of the weapons on the three combined machines began to charge up. After ten seconds of charging, they unleashed their devastating attack. From its twin shoulder artilleries, X-Head Cannon fired two high- powered missiles straight towards the weaker beast monster. That wasn't the only attack. Y-Dragon Head fired another blast of energy directly at Gazelle. But the first attack that was to hit was Z-Metal Tank's barrage of bullets from its two side machineguns.  
  
"I don't think so," Yugi said activating a card. "I activate my trap card, Magic Cylinder to save Gazelle and send 2800 direct damage to your life points."  
  
As the cylinder appeared in midair to absorb the Dragon Cannon's attack, it was Kurt's turn to turn the tables.  
  
"Sorry, but I activate Barrel Behind the Door," Kurt said activating the trap card. "It negates any direct damage to me and sends it right back at you."  
  
It was done. As the attacks of XYZ-Dragon Cannon were sent back to Kurt, a large golden revolver ensnared by chains appeared. All the attacks were sent into the barrel of the revolver and into a chamber. The cylinder spun around really fast then quickly stopped when the loaded chamber stopped in front of the barrel again. The chains tied around the trigger of the large revolver tightened and fired the attack directly at Yugi. The explosion of the three combined attacks hit Yugi for 2800 direct damage.  
  
"I'll end my turn," Kurt said smirking.  
  
Colette: 7050  
  
Mai: 8000  
  
Kurt: 7500  
  
Yugi: 5200  
  
Yugi's turn-  
  
'Okay this guy isn't pulling anything,' Yugi thought while drawing his card. 'He's ready to take anything coming at him for his advantage and the only card that can help me right now I hope he can't counter it.'  
  
"Alright, I'll sacrifice Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts to summon the Summoned Skull (2500/1200) in attack mode," Yugi said playing his strongest fiend card. "And I'll pay 500 life points from Ultimate Offering to summon another monster face down in defense mode ending my turn..."  
  
Colette: 7050  
  
Mai: 8000  
  
Kurt: 7500  
  
Yugi: 4700  
  
Yugi waited patiently for his opponent, Kurt Schneider to make his move, knowing if these cards were destroyed, he'd be done for... 


	27. The Second Preliminary Match Part II

Colette's turn-  
  
"Alright now before I draw I'll activate my trap card, Solemn Wishes," Colette said then drawing her card. "So during each time I draw a card I'll gain 500 life points."  
  
"500 life points isn't a lot," Mai told her. "With those weak monsters, your life points will drop a lot more than 500 life points each turn."  
  
"Humph," Colette grunted then continuing her turn. "I'll show you. First I play Graceful Charity and draw three cards then discard two from my hand. I'll discard Marie the Fallen One and Maiden of the Moonlight to the graveyard."  
  
As she sent the two cards in her graveyard, she continued talking.  
  
"With Solemn Wishes, I'll gain another 500 life points, putting me at 8050." But that's not all. I'll play one card face down and summon this, Injection Fairy Lily (400/1500) in attack mode."  
  
"Mai!" Yugi told her instantly remembering that card's capabilities. "Watch out for that card, it can increase its attack points dramatically."  
  
"Yugi, I can take care of this," Mai told him ignoring his advice. "You worry about yourself."  
  
"Now for the last card I'll play this turn, I'll equip my Fairy Lily with Shooting Star Bow," Colette began. "That lowers Lily's attack by 1000 making her attack zero."  
  
"Why would you play a card that weakens your already weak monster?" Mai asked.  
  
'Oh no,' thought Yugi.  
  
"Because it lets Lily attack your life points directly," Colette said. "Go Lily! Attack Mai directly!"  
  
An archery bow materialized in Injection Fairy Lily's hands and her ride- able booster shot shrunk to the size of an arrow. Then, she pulled back on the bow and fired the booster shot like an arrow.  
  
"Now I'll pay 2000 life points and that'll increase Lily's attack to 3000," Colette said smirking towards Mai.  
  
As Mai's smile had faded into a silent gasp, the arrow-sized booster shot grew several times fold to the size of a missile and it hit Mai virtually in her chest 3000 direct damage.  
  
"Your turn," Colette said and laughed tauntingly.  
  
Colette: 6050  
  
Mai: 5000  
  
Kurt: 7500  
  
Yugi: 4700  
  
Mai's turn-  
  
"So you're better than I thought," Mai said to her, drawing her card. "Well let's see how well you can keep it up with this. I'll begin by playing one card face down and sacrifice Harpie's Brother to bring out Harpie's Pet Dragon (2000/2500) and with three Harpies on the field will increase her attack and defense to 2900/3400!"  
  
Colette had a sign of shock at the looming-in-power Pet Dragon.  
  
"You should be worried," Mai told her. "Now Harpie's Pet Dragon, attack her Mystical Elf, Fearsome Fire Blast!  
  
The red, chained dragon exhaled a jet of fire towards the blue-skinned elf wielding the Rod of Silence. The elf created a thick soundproof barrier around herself to endure the attack. But Colette had something planned.  
  
"Hold it," Colette said. "I activate my trap card, Enchanted Javelin!"  
  
A strange looking javelin appeared and a white aura surrounded it as it pointed towards Harpie's Pet Dragon. Soon after the aura enveloped the entire javelin, it gave off a blinding white light. The javelin then divided into many tiny beams of light and landed onto Colette healing her life points.  
  
"Enchanted Javelin heals my life points by your dragon's attack points," Colette explained as her life points increased by 2900.  
  
"It still doesn't save you from my dragon's attack," Mai said as her Pet Dragon continued its fire-breathing frenzy.  
  
As thick as Mystical Elf's barrier was, the Pet Dragon's boosted attack was too much for it and the shield shattered. The flames engulfed the Mystical Elf and she was cremated alive.  
  
"Now that your best defense is wiped out, I'll move on to your Fairy Lily," Mai said to Colette. "Now my Harpie Lady Sisters, attack Injection Fairy Lily! Tri-Attack!"  
  
The three Harpie Ladies formed another triangle made up of their combined power and fired the blast at the weak Fairy Lily. But Colette intervened once again.  
  
"You should really stop attacking head on," Colette told Mai. "I activate my trap card, Shift switching your Harpie's attack to one of my face down Nimble Momongas."  
  
As the bow and arrow wielding fairy switched battle positions with one of Colette's face down cards, Mai answered back.  
  
"Now you're the one who's fallen into my trap," Mai replied. "I activate my trap card, Trap Jammer, negating your Shift trap card and placing your Fairy back where it belongs."  
  
As quickly as Injection Fairy Lily switched places with a face down card, it switched back with it. The combined attacks wiped her out. Even though it was basically a direct attack, Colette kept a serious look on her face, as if she knew what she was doing.  
  
'Why didn't Colette use Lily's special ability to make it stronger than Mai's Harpies?' Yugi thought to himself.  
  
"That ends my turn," Mai said, now looking confident.  
  
Colette: 4100  
  
Mai: 5000  
  
Kurt: 7500  
  
Yugi: 4700  
  
Kurt's turn-  
  
"So, you're reaping the benefits from my Ultimate Offering, are you?" Kurt asked Yugi drawing his card and his sinister serpent from the graveyard. "Well your monsters won't be around for much longer."  
  
Yugi knew what was coming next.  
  
"I'll discard my Sinister Serpent from my hand and I'll destroy your face down card," Kurt said placing his reptile back into the graveyard.  
  
His monster's effect activated again. This time, X-Head Cannon's twin shoulder artilleries fired two missiles towards the face down card. As they collided, an explosion was created and as the smoke cleared, Yugi's face down card was gone.  
  
"You wasted your use of Sinister Serpent," Yugi told the German duelist.  
  
"And why's that?" he asked.  
  
"Because the card you just destroyed was a ruse," Yugi showed him the card. "You just destroyed my Thousand Knives, a useless card unless I have a Dark Magician out on the field."  
  
Kurt groaned after being duped then smirked, "Don't think you got off so easy. You still have a Summoned Skull, in attack mode. Attack, XYZ-Dragon Cannon! Total Annihilation!"  
  
The merged machine monster obeyed its master and powered up to launch its attack once more. X-Head Cannon's shoulder artilleries shot two more missiles, Y-Dragon Head fired a second blast of energy from its mouth, and Z-Metal Tank unleashed another barrage of bullets. The bullets were the first to hit all over Summoned Skull's body but not life-threateningly, the blast of energy hit right in the fiend's chest, but the attack that did the most damage were the two missiles. The impact of the missiles left Summoned Skull to ashes.  
  
"That'll end my turn," Kurt said with a smug smile on his face towards Yugi.  
  
Colette: 4100  
  
Mai: 5000  
  
Kurt: 7500  
  
Yugi: 4400  
  
Yugi's turn-  
  
Yugi looked at his hand and saw nothing that could help him.  
  
'I have to draw something good,' Yugi thought.  
  
Yugi placed his hand on the top card of his deck and drew it slowly. As Yugi looked at it he sighed.  
  
"I have finally drawn the card I need to stop your Dragon Cannon," Yugi told him.  
  
"Oh?" Kurt questioned in disbelief.  
  
"Yes," Yugi told him. "I play Return of the Doomed. By discarding one monster card from my graveyard, I can return a monster that was destroyed this turn back to my hand— namely Summoned Skull.  
  
"A lot of good that'll do," Kurt said. "It returns at the end of your turn."  
  
"Yes but I have a card of equal attack power to my Summoned Skull," Yugi continued. "I'll sacrifice my face down card to summon the Dark Magician (2500/2100) in attack mode!"  
  
As the face down card vanished, Yugi's purple-armored spellcaster appeared and faced Kurt's Dragon Cannon.  
  
"It's still weaker than my Dragon Cannon," Kurt said. "You sure you beat Seto Kaiba?"  
  
"Yes I have," Yugi replied. "But your monster's the weaker one."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"The card I discarded was Gilfer Demon. If he's in the graveyard, I can equip to any monster and reduce its attack by 2800. That makes your Dragon Cannon have an attack of 2300."  
  
Kurt's eyes widened at what he heard.  
  
"That's right," Yugi said, letting out a small smile. "Now Dark Magician, attack XYZ-Dragon Cannon! Dark Magic Attack!"  
  
The magician aimed its staff towards the weakened fusion monster and fired a blast of black magic towards it, causing it to shatter like glass. The bits and remains of the Dragon Cannon flew towards Kurt, whom shielded his eyes as if it was a real attack.  
  
"My turn is over," Yugi said and his Summoned Skull returned to his hand.  
  
Colette: 4100  
  
Mai: 5000  
  
Kurt: 7300  
  
Yugi: 4400  
  
Colette's turn-  
  
When Colette drew her card, she giggled girlishly.  
  
"What is it?" Mai asked impatiently.  
  
"I play Card of Sanctity," she said playing her magic card. "Now we all draw until we have a hand of six cards.  
  
Colette had no other cards in her hand and she happily drew six cards.  
  
'Perfect,' Kurt thought as he drew his extra cards. 'These people are all helping me out and they don't even realize it.'  
  
Colette looked on at her six cards in sheer bliss.  
  
"Could you make your move already?" Mai asked in anger.  
  
"Fine," she said, acting serious. "First of all, from Solemn Wishes I gain 500 life points from drawing Card of Sanctity, then I gain another 500 life points for playing Card of Sanctity, and I gain 200 life points from Marie the Fallen One. That puts me at 5300."  
  
'700 life points each turn?' thought Mai. 'This could be a problem, if she keeps drawing extra cards.'  
  
"But that's not all," Colette continued. "I play Airknight Parshath (1900/1400) in attack mode and I'll equip him with Elf's Light to make him a 2300/1200. Now my Airknight, attack her Harpie Lady Sisters, Angel Blade!"  
  
The winged knight unraveled its wings; his sword illuminated a bright gold and flew towards the three airborne Harpies. It slashed all three of them with one mighty blow and sent them all to the card graveyard. As they faded, their Pet Dragon cried out for them as its attack points reverted back to its original 2000.  
  
"Now who's the one losing?" Colette gloated to Mai.  
  
"Keep smiling," Mai said scowling. "It's only a matter of time until I crush you."  
  
"Well that'll be a while," Colette said, drawing a card. "Every time my Airknight deals damage to you, I draw a card. And every time I draw a card, I gain 500 life points."  
  
"Are you done yet?" Mai asked.  
  
"I suppose so," she said smugly.  
  
Colette: 5800  
  
Mai: 4650  
  
Kurt: 7300  
  
Yugi: 4400  
  
Mai's turn-  
  
'Okay she took me off guard,' Mai thought while drawing her card. 'No big deal. Thanks to her, I've got a lot of cards at my disposal.'  
  
"First I switch my Harpie's Pet Dragon to defense mode and I'll play Amazoness Fighter (1300/1300) in attack mode," Mai said.  
  
Her red, winged dragon shielded itself and beside it, appeared a muscular woman ready for a fight.  
  
"I'm aware of that card's effect," Colette said. "And it's pretty sad to use that poor excuse for a female."  
  
"She may look strong," Mai said, "But she's about to get stronger. I play Amazoness Spellcaster to switch the original attack with your Airknight. That'll make Airknight Parshath a 1700 and my Amazoness Fighter a 1900! Now, my Amazoness Fighter, attack her Airknight!"  
  
The temporarily powered Amazon obeyed and leaped into the air, coming down with a dropkick to the fairy knight's face. The attack broke the fairy's neck and it faded to the graveyard.  
  
"I'll end my turn now," Mai said, still serious.  
  
Colette: 5600  
  
Mai: 4650  
  
Kurt: 7300  
  
Yugi: 4400  
  
Kurt's turn-  
  
"Normally, I'd attack Colette's life points directly," Kurt said to Yugi while drawing his card and returning Sinister Serpent back to his hand. "But that wouldn't really be fair. Besides, I'm dueling you, Muto."  
  
"As if you're really a gentleman," Mai snapped at him. "You tried to get a kiss out of me on the boat for a duel, and you lost."  
  
"Only because I had to use half of your second-rate deck," he replied. "Had you taken on mine, you'd be sleeping in the hallway."  
  
"Really?" Mai skeptically asked. "I never saw you duel, but if you can't even work with another duelist's deck, you can't be all that great."  
  
Kurt just smirked at her, "Once Muto's lost, you're next. I was going to spare you until we dueled in the finals, but not anymore."  
  
"Hey are we dueling?" Yugi asked him.  
  
"Fine," Kurt said turning back to face Yugi. "I play the magic card, Exchange and I'll exchange hands with you, Muto."  
  
Kurt left his side of the field and over to Yugi's side.  
  
"Now we both show each other our hands and take one card from each other's hands," Kurt explained.  
  
Kurt showed the seven cards in his hand. They consisted of: Sinister Serpent, Exiled Force, X-Head Cannon, Y-Dragon Cannon, Z-Metal Tank, Card Destruction, and Raigeki Break.  
  
Yugi showed the six cards in his hand consisting of: Lightforce Sword, Beta the Magnet Warrior, Neo the Magic Swordsman, Berfomet, Swords of Revealing Light, and Summoned Skull.  
  
"I'll pick Exiled Force," Yugi said taking the card and adding it to his hand.  
  
"And I'll take Summoned Skull," Kurt said taking Yugi's fiend and placing it in his hand. He then walked back to his side of the field.  
  
"Now I'll sacrifice my face down card to bring out your Summoned Skull (2500/1200) on my side of the field," he began. "Then I'll play Card Destruction, sending our entire hands to the graveyard and we draw the same number to our hands."  
  
As Yugi sent his cards to the graveyard, he returned Exiled Force back to Kurt.  
  
Kurt looked at his new hand and smiled, "And now I'll play Fusion Gate, allowing monsters to be fused together without using a Polymerization."  
  
Suddenly, the white cubed field the four duelists were playing on turned black and the floor made an endless number of dark green lines that crossed evenly to make hundreds of square tiles. It seemed a lot like an old virtual-reality game.  
  
"Now I'll offer my Beastking of the Swamps from my hand and Summoned Skull to fuse them together to create..."  
  
"Wait a minute," Yugi intervened. "I've never heard of that kind of fusion between those monsters. I've never even heard of Beastking of the Swamps."  
  
"I guess you've never heard of the fusion-material monsters," Kurt said. "They're extremely rare cards that can only be obtained by being one of the best in the World Tournament. I was given three different ones and they've all been very useful. They can be used as a substitute in any fusion with another monster."  
  
Yugi was surprised to have just discover these cards' existence and listened on.  
  
"As I was saying," Kurt continued. "I'll offer Summoned Skull and Beastking of the Swamps to create... Black Skull Dragon (3200/2500)!"  
  
As the green swampy monster appeared on the field, it and Yugi's monster were both lifted off the ground. A portal opened up in the middle of the sky and they were both sucked in. What emerged from the portal was a mighty black dragon with an armor of bones covering its body and blood red eyes. The dragon landed back on the ground and unleashed a deafening roar to its opponents.  
  
"Now Black Skull Dragon!" he commanded. "Attack the Dark Magician! Molten Fireballs!"  
  
The mighty dragon exhaled several black balls of red fire towards the Dark Magician. The spellcaster had no chance. After the first fireball hit, a cloud of smoke was created with several explosions from each fireball. When the smoke blew away, Dark Magician was reduced to ashes.  
  
Kurt laughed victoriously at the sight of Yugi's expression.  
  
"You see," Kurt told him, "My deck can take advantage of any deck out there. People are most surprised when I use their cards to make even stronger fusion cards. You can start your turn now."  
  
Colette: 5600  
  
Mai: 4650  
  
Kurt: 7300  
  
Yugi: 3700  
  
Yugi's turn-  
  
'He's right,' thought Yugi. 'His deck seems to be one step ahead of me all the time. He hasn't even lost 1000 life points yet. Yami would know what to do...'  
  
Yugi reminisced to some of the many victories his counterpart had accomplished and never completely losing his cool. Especially his victory over Pegasus and Marik. Suddenly, he shook his head.  
  
'No! Yami would never expect me to think like this,' Yugi thought to himself looking down at the bag holding the shattered Millennium Puzzle at his feet. 'I've just begun to duel...'  
  
"Are you going to make your move today?" Kurt asked him.  
  
"Yes and I'll start right now!" Yugi proclaimed and he drew his card...  
  
NOTES: I'm sure you all know Harpie's Pet Dragon only gets +300 for each Harpie Lady on the field but the show used Harpie Lady Sisters as three Harpie Ladies. Well, to make a little like the show, I gave it the same effect as in the Duelist Kingdom saga.  
  
Also I'm unsure about fusion monsters being able to attack the same turn they're summoned. There have been arguments from both sides I have heard from. Well in short, there's no real rule that says they can't attack the same turn they're summoned, so that's what I went with. 


	28. The Second Prelimary Match Part III

"I first play Remove Trap, destroying Ultimate Offering," Yugi said playing the magic card. "And I'll flip summon my face down card, Sonic Bird (1400/1000). And with its effect, I can take one ritual magic card and add it to my hand."  
  
As Yugi flipped his face down card, an eagle with a jetpack on its back appeared on the field. As it arrived, Yugi looked through his deck for a ritual magic card.  
  
"I pick Black Luster Ritual," Yugi said, adding it to his hand then shuffling his deck. "Plus I'll summon forth Sengu of the Thousand Hands (1400/1000) in attack mode. Like Sonic Bird, Sengu has an effect too. Except when he's summoned to the field, I can add a ritual monster card from my deck to my hand."  
  
An orange fairy with many, many arms appeared beside Sonic Bird. Like before, Yugi looked through his deck for a ritual card.  
  
"I pick the ritual monster card, Black Luster Soldier," Yugi said adding the card to his hand and he shuffled his deck again. "And now I'll play Black Luster Ritual and by sacrificing Sonic Bird and Sengu, I ritual summon the Black Luster Soldier (3000/2500)."  
  
As Yugi played the magic card, the ritual had begun. Behind Yugi's two monsters appeared two urns with columns fire rising out and an insignia of two swords crossing in an x in front of a shield. The columns of fire took in the two monsters and were raised up into the sky. The two separate flames merged together and came down on the swords and shield insignia.  
  
When the flames parted and vanished, an armored warrior wielding a curved sword and a shield just like the insignia was standing alone, defending Yugi's life points.  
  
"Powerful monster..." Kurt said looking at it. "It's a shame it still isn't powerful enough to take down my Black Skull Dragon."  
  
"True," Yugi answered. "But to give my monster some support, I'll place these two cards face down, ending my turn."  
  
'What an idiot,' Kurt thought. 'He just gave away his entire strategy right now. And I just need one more card to bring out my powerful card.'  
  
Colette's turn-  
  
As the French duelist drew her card, she gained 500 life points from Solemn Wishes and another 200 life points from Marie the Fallen One.  
  
"I just drew one of my strongest cards," Colette boasted to Mai. "I'll sacrifice one of my face down Nimble Momongas to summon Saturn, Angel of Judgment (2400/0) in attack mode."  
  
'I think I've heard of that card before,' thought Yugi, looking on at the card. 'It has some powerful effect when it's played along with a magic card.'  
  
As one of the face down cards vanished, a purple-skinned, winged woman dressed in a robe appeared to the field.  
  
"That's one of your strongest cards?" Mai questioned. "2400 is nothing compared to what I have."  
  
"Oh? Well she strong enough to take out your Amazoness Fighter," she retorted. "Attack Saturn! Cosmic Rings!"  
  
The Angel of Judgment spread its wings and flew high into the air. She raised up her right hand and created a multitude of rings so close together, it looked like one large ring. She then hurled it towards Mai's Amazon. The ring bisected Mai's monster, but her life points remained the same.  
  
"You're lucky that your Amazoness Fighter prevented you from losing life points," Colette said. "Next time you might not be so lucky. That ends my turn."  
  
Colette: 6300  
  
Mai: 4650  
  
Kurt: 7300  
  
Yugi: 3700  
  
Mai's turn-  
  
When Mai drew her card, she quickly made her move, "I begin by playing two cards face down and I'll summon Amazoness Paladin (1700/300) in attack mode."  
  
A blonde-haired woman wielding a katana sword appeared to the field and as she arrived she had a slight luminescence of red light.  
  
"For every Amazoness on my side of the field, she gains 100 more attack points, putting her at 1800 attack," Mai added. "And I'll play Monster Reborn, reviving Amazoness Fighter (1300/1300). With her presence, Amazoness Paladin's attack power increases to 1900. That ends my turn."  
  
Kurt's turn-  
  
"Your end shall soon come," Kurt said drawing his card, but Yugi quickly reacted.  
  
"Well you won't be attacking this turn," Yugi said. "I activate my trap card, Thunder of Ruler. That means you have to skip your battle phase."  
  
"Then I'll pass my turn," Kurt said in annoyance.  
  
Yugi's turn-  
  
"Now it's time for you to feel the pain," Yugi told Kurt, looking at his drawn card. "I play Mage Power, powering up my Black Luster Soldier. And it powers up my monster by 500 for each magic or trap card on my side. I see two right now. That increases my Black Luster Soldier's attack to 4000."  
  
Suddenly, Mage Power took effect and made Black Luster Soldier give off a red glow.  
  
"I'll also summon Dark Magician Girl (2000/1700) to the field," Yugi said. "And since my Dark Magician's in the graveyard, her attack increases to 2300. Now Black Luster Soldier, attack Black Skull Dragon! Chaos Slash!"  
  
The armored warrior lifted up his curved sword and slashed it downward creating a black force of energy. The energy grew bigger as it approached the skeletal dragon. When the attack collided, the Dragon was blown away and was completely destroyed, taking with it 800 of Kurt's life points.  
  
"And now Dark Magician Girl, attack his life points directly!" Yugi declared.  
  
His female spellcaster fired a light purple blast of energy directly at the German duelist causing him to lose 2300 life points.  
  
"I'll end my turn," Yugi said.  
  
Colette: 6300  
  
Mai: 4650  
  
Kurt: 4200  
  
Yugi: 3700  
  
Colette's turn-  
  
When Colette drew her card, she got giddy.  
  
"You're done for now," she told Mai.  
  
"Am I?" asked Mai.  
  
"Yes," she began. "I first gain another 700 life points from Solemn Wishes and Marie the Fallen One. And now I play my field card, Sanctuary of the Sky."  
  
Suddenly, the virtual world they were playing on was covered in thick white clouds. Behind Colette emerged a heavenly palace.  
  
"First I'll sacrifice my Angel of Judgment to activate her special effect." Colette proclaimed. "And that is that I can deal damage equal to the difference between me and my opponent's life points. My life points are at 7000 and yours are at 4650. So Saturn will deal 2350 damage to your life points!"  
  
Suddenly, Colette's monster contained itself in a purple orb of light and surrounded it with a thick ring. It was a scale purple version of Saturn. The attack launched itself and crashed into Mai, taking more than half of her life points.  
  
"Scared yet?" Colette asked her. "And now to put you in an even bigger scare, I'll summon a monster of unrivaled power. I summon Mars, Angel of Power (0/0)."  
  
A rather winged, muscular man wielding a powerful war hammer appeared on Colette's field, yet the card's attack power read zero.  
  
"That's your monster of unrivaled power?" Mai asked.  
  
"You should be scared," Colette said. "This is a very powerful fairy card. His attack and defense is equal to the difference of my opponent's life points. So that makes him a 4700/4700."  
  
Mai tried to maintain her seriousness but she simply couldn't.  
  
"You're just lucky that because I used my Angel of Judgment's special effect I have to skip my battle phase," Colette explained. "I'll end my turn. So enjoy your last turn."  
  
Colette: 7000  
  
Mai: 2300  
  
Kurt: 4200  
  
Yugi: 3700  
  
Mai's turn-  
  
When Mai looked at her card, she sighed loudly.  
  
"Well all I can do is summon Amazoness Tiger (1100/1500) in attack mode," Mai announced. "For every Amazon card on the field, this tiger's attack is increased by 400 that has Amazoness in its name. So my tiger's attack is increased by 1200, making its attack power 2300. Plus Amazoness Paladin's attack is increased to 2000 for having two other Amazons on the field."  
  
"A bunch of weak monsters won't save you," Colette told her.  
  
"True but my Tiger protects all of my other Amazons," Mai said. "So most of my life points are safe for now."  
  
"You really are stupid, aren't you?" Colette interrogated. "Come next turn, Mars's attack power will increase by 700 from my cards' effects. That'll make him a 5700 attacker. And 3100 more attack power than your Tiger. You just wasted your turn."  
  
'We'll see,' Mai thought to herself.  
  
Kurt's turn-  
  
"You'll pay for that," Kurt said to Yugi, drawing his card. "I first play Pot of Greed, letting me draw two cards. Then I'll play Foolish Burial placing Catapult Turtle into my graveyard and I'll play Monster Reborn to revive Catapult Turtle (1000/2000) in defense mode."  
  
Just as Kurt slipped the monster into his graveyard, he quickly took it back out and placed it on the field. He then shuffled his deck.  
  
"Now I'll play one card face down and summon Magical Scientist (300/300) in attack mode." Kurt said, now smirking evilly. "Here's what's going to hurt. By paying 1000 life points, I can summon one level 6 or lower fusion monster from my fusion deck for one turn."  
  
As the weak scientist appeared on the field, he was grinning just like Kurt.  
  
"So I'll pay 3000 life points to bring out Roaring Ocean Snake (2100/1800), Empress Judge (2100/1700), and Punished Eagle (2100/1800)."  
  
Three glass cylinder tubes rose out from the ground containing some sort of liquid and each holding a different kind of monster in hibernation. One held a long red sea serpent encircled around the inside of the tube. Another tube had a dark red haired woman with bits of blue paint on her face and a red jewel in the center of her forehead. The third tube held a mighty blue-green eagle that had a battle scar on its head. Suddenly, all the monsters in the tubes opened their eyes and the glass cracked. After several seconds passed the tubes shattered, the liquid holding the monsters flowed out, and they were free.  
  
"But I won't use them to attack," Kurt said. "Instead I'll sacrifice all three of them to activate Catapult Turtle's special effect to deal damage equal to half of their attack points. Launch them, Catapult Turtle!"  
  
Roaring Ocean Snake first mounted on to Catapult Turtle's launcher and in seconds was jettisoned towards Yugi, colliding into him for 1050 direct damage. Empress Judge was next and was launched as well to deal another 1050 damage. Punished Eagle was the last but was launched just as hard and hit Yugi again taking yet another 1050 life points.  
  
"That hits you for a total of 3150 damage," Kurt told Yugi. "That puts you at almost nothing. That ends my turn."  
  
Colette: 7000  
  
Mai: 2300  
  
Kurt: 1200  
  
Yugi: 550  
  
Yugi's turn-  
  
"You still have 1200 life points," Yugi pointed out, drawing his card. "You could've brought out another fusion monster and wiped out the rest of my life points."  
  
"I know," Kurt answered. "The end is soon to come and I shall finish you off with the rare card I was given. Come next turn."  
  
"Very well," Yugi said. "I play my magic card, Exchange to exchange hands with you Kurt."  
  
Yugi walked over to Kurt and showed him his hand: Valkyrion the Magna Warrior and Polymerization.  
  
Kurt as well revealed his hand: Sinister Serpent and Mystical Sheep #1.  
  
"I'll take Polymerization," Kurt said, taking it from Yugi's hand.  
  
"And I'll take Mystical Sheep #1," Yugi said adding the card to his hand and returning back to his side of the field.  
  
"Too bad there aren't any monsters capable of being fused with Mystical Sheep," Kurt said.  
  
"That's where you're wrong," Yugi told him. "There's one monster with power you can't imagine. And one of them is on the field.  
  
"What are you talking about?" Kurt asked.  
  
"Just watch this," Yugi said. "I'll summon Mystical Sheep #1 (1150/900) in attack mode. And with your Fusion Gate, I'll offer Black Luster Soldier and Mystical Sheep and remove them from play to fusion summon... Dragon Master Knight (5000/5000)!"  
  
As the two monsters levitated into the sky, a portal took in the two monsters and they were gone. What emerged from the portal was Black Luster Soldier riding on a mighty, three-headed dragon. The dragon was known only as the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon. Each head of the dragon roared mightily towards Kurt.  
  
"No!" Kurt gasped. "That's not possible! I've never heard of that fusion."  
  
"It isn't a very easy one to pull of," Yugi said. "To normally accomplish this, I'd have to have the very rare Black Luster Soldier and the even rarer Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon. A card only found in Seto Kaiba's deck. But thanks to your fusion material monsters, I was able to substitute for a Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon."  
  
"Such a powerful card," Kurt marveled. "However, the card I have prepared for you is unbeatable."  
  
"That isn't all," Yugi said. "Dragon Master Knight also has another effect; its attack power is increased by 500 for each dragon type on the field. Harpie's Pet Dragon therefore increases his attack to 5500."  
  
Kurt was still in amazement to see a monster with such a devastating attack power.  
  
"Now Dragon Master Knight," Yugi began. "Attack Magical Scientist! Raging Dragon Slash!"  
  
The three dragon heads each fired a blast of white lightning and Black Luster Soldier's sword illuminated black then he slashed the air creating a Chaos Slash. The four attacks merged and closed in the weak scientist.  
  
"I'll have to intervene," Kurt said. "I activate my trap, Negate Attack!"  
  
The massive attack was only several feet away before hitting until it was sucked into a portal until it was completely negated.  
  
"Nice try," Kurt said. "Not only does that stop your dragon's attack, but you battle phase ends for this turn."  
  
"Fine then, I'll end my turn," Yugi said.  
  
Colette's turn-  
  
"Your end is here," Colette said to Mai, drawing her card. "I don't need to set anything either, your life points are gone. From Solemn Wishes and Marie the Fallen One, I gain another 700 life points, putting me at 7700. My Angel of Power's attack increases to 5400. Mars, Angel of Power, attack Amazoness Tiger! Tectonic War Hammer!"  
  
The Angel of Power spread his wings and took to the skies. He readied his war hammer and raised it high over his head as he did a 30-foot freefall back to the ground. The war hammer was the first to strike the earth and an enormous shockwave shot towards Mai's Amazoness Tiger.  
  
"Sorry hun," Mai said. "I activate my trap card, Mirror Wall! That cuts your monster's attack power in half to 2700!"  
  
As the quake closed in on the tiger, a wall of thick glass that reflected light in many directions rose up. The quake ran straight into the wall and shot back to the Angel of Power. The attack hit him with full force caused him to feel fatigued.  
  
"He's still stronger than your tiger," Colette said. "Attack!"  
  
The fairy monster did not stop. He flapped his wings once to launch himself towards the Amazoness Tiger. His war hammer was once more raised over his head but this time, he was ready to strike the tiger down.  
  
"Activate Trap card!" Mai declared activating her last face down card. "Amazoness Archers!"  
  
Suddenly five female Amazons each armed with bows and arrows. All five of them shot one arrow each at the Angel of Power. All five arrows pierced the male monster's chest and weakened him.  
  
"That weakens your monster even further by 500 attack points, to 2200," Mai said. "Some Angel of Power."  
  
"Oh no!" Colette shouted as her arrowed fairy closed in on the tiger, showing no signs of stopping.  
  
As the weakened Angel of Power's hammer was about to fall, Amazoness Tiger struck first by leaping forward and driving its claws into its opponent. Mars, Angel of Power dropped to the ground and his body claimed defeat.  
  
"I still don't lose any life points," Colette said. "Thanks to my Sanctuary of the Sky, I don't lose any life points if my fairies are destroyed in battle."  
  
"You forgot something," Mai said. "Amazoness Archers works on all of your monsters. That means your face down monster is flipped face and has to attack my Amazoness Tiger because you can't attack any other Amazons."  
  
Suddenly, Colette's face down monster flipped face up revealing to be her Nimble Momonga (1000/100). The small rodent glided towards Mai's tiger but Mai's two trap cards activated. Arrows found themselves in the rodent's body and Mirror Wall came up cutting its weakened attack further.  
  
"First Amazoness Archers cuts your monsters attack by 500, making its attack 500 and Mirror Wall weakens it even further to make it a 250 attacker," Mai said.  
  
Amazoness Tiger swept its claw with ease wiping out Nimble Momonga, taking with it 2050 of Colette's life points. But because the monster that was destroyed was Nimble Momonga, she gained 1000 life points.  
  
"I'm not finished just yet!" Colette shouted to Mai. "I'm France's best duelist! I place four magic or trap cards face down and play one monster card face down in defense mode, ending my turn."  
  
Colette: 6650  
  
Mai: 2300  
  
Kurt: 1200  
  
Yugi: 550  
  
Mai's turn-  
  
As Mai drew her card, she looked at it and smiled.  
  
"This duel's over Colette," Mai told her.  
  
"Oh is it?" she asked.  
  
"Yes it is," Mai said. "I won't pay for Mirror Wall, so it's destroyed. And now I play another Cyber Harpie (1800/1300) in attack mode and equip her with Cyber Shield to increase her attack by 500, making her attack 2300! Plus, Harpie's Pet Dragon's attack is increased to 2300 because of Cyber Harpie's presence."  
  
"You sure you want to attack?" Colette asked smugly. "To be honest, I've got you in the palm of my hand."  
  
"That's where you're wrong," Mai said. "I play Harpie's Feather Duster to wipe out all of your magic and traps on the field!"  
  
Suddenly, a great gust of wind came and Colette's face down cards and her Sanctuary of the Sky blew away. As they were destroyed, all that remained was Kurt's Fusion Gate.  
  
Colette gasped in fear.  
  
"That's right," Mai said. "You're finished. Attack her face down card, Cyber Harpie, Cyber Slash!  
  
Mai's armored Harpie obeyed and flew towards the face down card. She swung both claws in an x-formation destroying the card, revealing to be Fairy's Gift. After it was wiped out, Colette was wide open.  
  
"Now, Amazoness Fighter, Paladin, Tiger and Harpie's Pet Dragon, attack Colette's life points directly!" Mai declared.  
  
Mai's four monsters all nodded towards her then charged toward their opponent. Amazoness Fighter ran the fastest and dealt a drop kick to Colette's life points. Amazoness Paladin was following closely behind then delivered a powerful slash across Colette's stomach. Amazoness Tiger was beside the Paladin and clawed at Colette. And Harpie's Pet Dragon remained where she was and unleashed a wave of fire towards Colette as a grand finale. All four of the monster's attack was 7900 damage to Colette.  
  
"You've lost," Mai said to Colette. "That ends my turn."  
  
Colette sighed heavily as her portion of the field blacked out.  
  
Colette: 0  
  
Mai: 2300  
  
Kurt: 1200  
  
Yugi: 550  
  
Kurt's turn-  
  
"You've just made things easier for me," Kurt said to Mai.  
  
"How so?" Mai asked.  
  
"That fairy of hers would've been hard to defeat," Kurt explained. "That raw power would've been quite the obstacle."  
  
"Well you're going to face it next," Mai said. "Actually I'm pretty sure Yugi's going to take you out."  
  
As Kurt drew his card, he tried hard to keep laughing, "Well no one will be attacking anymore."  
  
Yugi and Mai were both dumbstruck at what he was talking about.  
  
"Don't know? Fine, I'll show you," Kurt said, "I play Metamorphosis! To morph my Magical Scientist into the rare card I was talking about. Thousand Eyes Restrict!"  
  
Yugi gasped at the name of the card he heard.  
  
The metamorphosis began. Magical Scientist's whole body began to shake. He suddenly began to grow greatly, so great his lab coat was ripped to shreds. His neck stretched to several feet and leaned forward, his feet merged together making a point, and he grew a tail that extended over eight feet. Suddenly, his skin tone changed from a humane white to a dark red. His arms grew out and his fingers changed into monstrous claws. His chest had two holes opened up and let out a green luminescence like eyes. His belly opened up like a circular mouth and around grew sharp fangs. His back split in two and opened up like wings. Round bumps began to rupture all over its body from its neck, to its arms, to its wings, and pretty much everywhere else. The metamorphosis ended with the scientist's head was covered with gold that formed a large eye. The monster looked exactly like what Yugi remembered.  
  
"How?" Yugi asked. "How did you get... this?  
  
"This is a new card that has yet to be released to the public," Kurt said. "Salazar offered it to me just for the price of defeating you and taking some card of yours. It doesn't matter how strong your Dragon Master Knight is; as long as Thousand Eyes Restrict is on the field, no other monster can attack or even change positions. But the best part is that it takes control of one of my opponent's monsters like a magic card. I choose your Dragon Master Knight. Say goodbye to Duelist Kingdom, Yugi Muto. Thousand Eyes Spell!"  
  
Suddenly all the eyes on Thousand Eyes Restrict's body shined green from all around. The golden eye on the monster's head looked directly at Yugi's Dragon Master Knight. Yugi's monster illuminated green and began to move against its will.  
  
"Not quite," Yugi said. "I activate my Quick-Play Magic card, De-Fusion!"  
  
Suddenly Kurt's monster began to glow white all over. Suddenly the light dispersed and Thousand Eyes Restrict was gone. As it vanished, Dragon Master Knight was returned to normal.  
  
"What!?" Kurt shouted. "My supreme fusion monster... gone..."  
  
"That's right," Yugi said. "I was sure your rare card was some fusion monster since that seems to be your specialty."  
  
Kurt fell to his knees, in what seemed to be inevitable defeat.  
  
"I pass..." he said, knowing what was to come next.  
  
Yugi's turn-  
  
Yugi didn't even bother drawing his card; he simply went to his battle phase.  
  
"Dark Magician Girl!" Yugi announced. "Attack Catapult Turtle!"  
  
The female spellcaster obeyed and fired another purple blast of magic, destroying the turtle leaving Kurt open for a direct attack.  
  
"Now, Dragon Master Knight!" Yugi shouted. "Attack Kurt's life points directly! Raging Dragon Slash!"  
  
The three heads of the dragon each fired a blast of white lightning and Black Luster Soldier unleashed his Chaos Slash and altogether created a devastating attack. The attack hit Kurt Schneider directly and left him in a virtual cloud of smoke.  
  
"Damn..." Kurt said as his life points dropped to zero, and the duel had ended.  
  
The room they were standing in changed back into pure white.  
  
The defeated German duelist walked over to Yugi and presented him the fusion card, Thousand Eyes Restrict.  
  
"I'm a man of my word," he said. "Take it."  
  
"How did Salazar get this?" Yugi asked, taking it.  
  
"Don't ask me, one of his suits showed me the card and told me what to do," he answered. "I couldn't believe how powerful it was. So I agreed to try and take you out."  
  
"You shouldn't make deals with Salazar," Yugi told him. "He can be very dangerous."  
  
"I'll keep that in mind," he said. "But still, that was without a doubt, my toughest duel. By the way, here's your Polymerization."  
  
"Oh yeah," Yugi said, taking back his card. "Also, here's your Mystical Sheep #1."  
  
Kurt took back his card and slipped it back into his deck, "I didn't think there was such a card like Dragon Master Knight. It must be the strongest fusion card in terms of attack and defense."  
  
"Yeah," Yugi nodded, picking up the bag holding his Millennium Puzzle.  
  
Colette had walked over to Mai and said, "The better duelist won."  
  
"Yeah," Mai agreed. "But great duel. You duel with the best of them."  
  
"Thanks," Colette said. "I'd love a rematch though."  
  
"Sure thing," Mai replied.  
  
"I'll get the door," Kurt said walking over to the door and grabbed the doorknob to open it for the rest of the duelists... 


	29. Kaiba VS The BlueEyes White Dragon Clan ...

'Of course Muto will get through,' thought Kaiba as Yugi entered the door with the other three duelists. 'It never ceases to amaze how someone that beat me got into all these high-class tournaments.'  
  
"Now let's continue on with the third preliminary match, shall we?" Croquet asked the remaining duelists.  
  
"Now for the four duelists to be dueling behind Door III," the suit holding the clipboard said. "Seto Kaiba..."  
  
Kaiba smirked and thought, 'Give me any of these second-rate duelists. I don't care who it is.'  
  
"Jonathan Winston..."  
  
The English duelist let out a chuckle, getting the one duelist he wanted to duel. His hair was brown and cut short with a few bangs hanging in front of his face. He wore a light blue short-sleeved shirt with blue jeans. He walked towards the door and asked Kaiba, "I know every strategy you've done, are you ready for me?"  
  
"You may know of my cards, but can you overcome them?" Kaiba answered back.  
  
"Seth Akil..."  
  
The duelist of Egypt smiled in content as he met up with his colleague at the door. His long black hair hung in the front and in the back. He wore a blue t-shirt covering a white long sleeved shirt with blue trousers. He looked over at Kaiba and told him, "You'll never know what hit you, with my deck."  
  
"You think you can take advantage of me?" Kaiba asked. "That's hard to believe. You can try and prove me wrong on the field."  
  
"...and Kyoji Hiraga."  
  
The Japanese duelist grinned confidently and walked over to his other comrades. He wore a white t-shirt, a blue jacket and blue jeans. After a brief conversation with his other two colleagues he said to Kaiba, "You're done for, Kaiba. With all three of us, you don't stand a chance."  
  
"Listen, I don't care if I had to take on ten duelists like you," Kaiba began. "I'm not about to be beaten by three nobodies who dueled some other nobodies to get here."  
  
"We'll see," Kyoji said.  
  
After that was said, the four duelists entered the door with the Roman numeral III. Kaiba walked in first, then Seth, then Kyoji, and Jonathan was the last and shut the door. The door locked electronically for the duration.  
  
Kaiba turned on his Duel Disk and walked over to the far corner of the white cubed room. The Blue-Eyes White Dragon Clan took up the other three corners, each turning on their Duel Disks.  
  
"I suppose you three want something if you happen to defeat me?" Kaiba asked the three of them.  
  
"Yes," answered Kyoji. "If you lose, we get all three of your Blue-Eyes White Dragons."  
  
"Okay," Kaiba said calmly. "And if I should win, I keep the two losers' decks."  
  
"What? No way! You're crazy!" Were some of the reactions of the three.  
  
"Your third-rate decks for three three-of-a-kind cards?" Kaiba asked. "Seems like you three would be getting the better spoils, here. The losers give up their decks or it's no deal."  
  
After much thought, they finally decided.  
  
"Fine," Jonathan said.  
  
"Alright," Seth answered.  
  
"It's not like you'll win anyway," Kyoji added.  
  
"Very well the terms are accepted," Kaiba said, shuffling his deck, then putting it back in his Duel Disk.  
  
"Let's duel!" The four duelists said in unison and their life points went to 8000.  
  
"I'll begin," Kaiba said, drawing his card. "I'll first play Pot of Greed, letting me draw two cards and now I'll summon Swordstalker (2000/1600) in attack mode."  
  
As Kaiba drew his two cards, Jonathan made a comment about his sword wielding warrior.  
  
"Swordstalker..." he began. "First used in your deck from the very beginning. A very adequate card for this kind of tournament. And a definition of your deck: pure power."  
  
"My, you've done your homework," Kaiba replied. "Are you sure you aren't fans of mine? If you've remember my cards from that far, you must like me."  
  
"Don't flatter yourself," Jonathan answered. "'Know your enemy, know yourself' simple logic."  
  
"Fine," Kaiba said. "I'll end my turn."  
  
"I'll go next," Jonathan said, drawing his card. "I'll start by playing this magic card, Stray Lambs, to special summon two lamb tokens (0/0) to the field in defense mode and I'll end my turn placing this one magic or trap card face down."  
  
On Jonathan's side of the field appeared two little horned lambs appeared. One had red fur and the other had white and was a bit smaller. In fact, the white lamb was resting atop the red lamb's head.  
  
"My turn," Kyoji said, drawing the top card on his deck. "I summon Twin- Headed Behemoth (1500/1200) in defense mode and one card face down, ending my turn."  
  
A winged dragon with two heads in place of arms and behind it appeared a large face down card on Kyoji's side of the field.  
  
Seth's turn-  
  
"Now it's my turn," said Seth, drawing his card. "I set one monster face down in defense mode and two cards face down, ending my turn."  
  
For Seth's first turn, three face down cards appeared. One was placed horizontally and behind it were two cards placed vertically.  
  
Kaiba's turn-  
  
"Now it's time to for you to feel the pain," Kaiba said to the three opposing duelists, drawing his card. "I'll set one card face down in defense mode and I'll have Swordstalker attack one of your lamb tokens, Jonathan. Shadow Sword!"  
  
Swordstalker obeyed and charged towards the horned lambs. He swung his blade horizontally and sliced the white lamb in two.  
  
Jonathan's turn-  
  
"A face down card?" he questioned, drawing his card. "I'm pretty sure I know what it is."  
  
"Then attack it," Kaiba told him.  
  
"Why attack it when I can do this?" he began. "First I summon Royal Magic Library (0/2000) in defense mode and I flip my face down card, Nobleman of Crossout! It destroys your face down card."  
  
An armored knight appeared and in his hands was a sword. The knight charged towards Kaiba's face down card and sliced the card in two, which revealed to be Slate Warrior.  
  
"If the monster destroys a monster with a flip effect, all other cards will be destroyed in your deck and mine," Jonathan explained.  
  
Kaiba didn't look the least bit worried, "That was my only Slate Warrior, so my deck is untouched."  
  
"Fine, but Royal Magic Library gets a spell counter from me playing Nobleman of Crossout," Jonathan said. "So I'll end my turn now."  
  
Kyoji's turn-  
  
As soon as Kyoji drew his card he laughed a little.  
  
"Here's a dent in your life points, Kaiba," he said to him. "I first flip my face down card, Super Rejuvenation and I'll summon Spirit Ryu (1000/1000)."  
  
As the dragon spirit appeared, Kyoji continued his turn.  
  
"And now I'll have him attack your Swordstalker, with Spirit Flame!"  
  
Spirit Ryu exhaled a small wave of white flame towards Swordstalker. Before the attack could hit, Kyoji discarded his entire hand.  
  
"With Spirit Ryu's special effect, I discard my entire hand, a hand of nothing but dragon cards to increase Spirit Ryu's attack and defense by 4000 making it a 5000/5000!"  
  
Suddenly the dragon spirit grew enormously, and its breath of fire grew, now looming over Kaiba's Swordstalker. The flames took in Kaiba's dark warrior and was destroyed.  
  
"And I end my turn," Kyoji said. "But as my turn ends, from Super Rejuvenation I draw the same amount of dragon cards that I discarded. So I draw four cards."  
  
"Plus, I get another spell counter on my Royal Magic Library," Jonathan added.  
  
'Not a big loss,' Kaiba thought. 'If I can just get the card I need, then someone's in trouble.'  
  
Kaiba: 5000  
  
Jonathan: 8000  
  
Kyoji: 8000  
  
Seth: 8000  
  
Seth's turn-  
  
"An excellent move," Seth commented to Kyoji, drawing a card. "Now for me to keep it up. I flip my face down card, Cobra Jar (600/300) to bring out a Poisonous Snake token (1200/1200). And I'll sacrifice my Cobra Jar to bring out Cybernetic Wyvern (2500/1600)!"  
  
As the old clay pot revealed itself, a cobra leaped out of the pot and hissed. As soon as the cobra appeared, the pot vanished and in its place, appeared a mighty green dragon. The dragon however was armored thickly with red armor covering almost everywhere.  
  
"Now Cybernetic Wyvern, attack his face down card! Cyber Breath!" Seth commanded.  
  
Seth's robotic dragon obeyed and exhaled dark red flames towards Kaiba's face down card. However Kaiba's face down card flipped face up.  
  
"Thanks for that," Kaiba said. "You attacked my Cyber Jar!"  
  
Before Cybernetic Wyvern's flame attack could hit, Cyber Jar glowed white and created a powerful explosion, wiping out all the monsters on the field.  
  
"Now we all pick up five cards, any monsters with levels four or lower are special summoned to the field," Kaiba explained. "Any other cards are added to our hands."  
  
Kaiba special summoned Vorse Raider (1900/1200) in attack mode, Giant Germ (1000/100) face down in defense mode, Kaiser Seahorse (1700/1650) in attack mode, and Lord of Dragons (1200/1100) face down in defense mode.  
  
Jonathan special summoned Troop Dragon (700/800) face down in defense mode and Gray Wing (1300/700) also face down in defense mode.  
  
Kyoji special summoned Cave Dragon (2000/100) in attack mode, Spear Dragon (1900/0) in attack mode and The Dragon Dwelling in the Cave (1300/2000) face down in defense mode.  
  
Seth could only special summon Youi (500/500) in attack mode.  
  
"Now I'll continue my turn," Seth said. "First, from Youi, I prevent one of my opponents from drawing next turn and I choose you Seto."  
  
"Very well," Kaiba said, looking at the card he drew. "But you left that weak little lizard in attack mode. You can't even sacrifice it for anything."  
  
"True, but I'll defend him with these," he said taking three cards out of his hands, "I place three more magic or trap cards face down, making it five. And I end my turn."  
  
Kaiba's turn-  
  
"Since I can't draw this turn," Kaiba began, "I'll just do this: I sacrifice Kaiser Seahorse to bring out Blue-Eyes White Dragon (3000/2500)!"  
  
As the armored sea serpent vanished in a flash of light, the mighty dragon Kaiba was famous for appeared. It roared mightily towards its opposition as if it had never experienced fear.  
  
The three members of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon Clan looked in awe at its immense power.  
  
"So this is the card you three so want?" Kaiba asked. "I can understand why anyone would want it. Well don't get too attached to looking at it. I play A Wingbeat of Giant Dragon."  
  
"Oh, no!" Seth shouted, knowing exactly what the card did.  
  
Kaiba's Blue-Eyes roared as he removed the card from his Duel Disk and added it back to his hand. The dragon itself flapped its mighty wings creating a powerful force of wind, blowing away all of Seth's face down cards. The Blue-Eyes White Dragon took to the skies and had left the field.  
  
"My traps..." Seth said mournfully, placing all five trap cards to the graveyard.  
  
"That leaves you with barely any defense," Kaiba said. "Before I crush you, I'm going to play Flute of Summoning Dragon to bring back Blue-Eyes!"  
  
Suddenly, a flute appeared with the head of a dragon in front of Kaiba's Lord of Dragons. The spellcaster grasped it firmly in his right hand and played a single note for several seconds. When he stopped, all four of the duelists heard a roar in the distance. As it got closer, they could see a white dragon fly down by Kaiba's side again.  
  
"Now to do away with you," Kaiba told Seth. "Giant Germ, attack Youi!"  
  
Kaiba's oversized cell shot towards Seth's multi-legged reptile encasing it completely and soon devoured it.  
  
"Now Lord of Dragons, Vorse Raider," Kaiba shouted to two of his monsters. "Attack Seth's life points directly!"  
  
Like a boomerang, Vorse Raider hurled his axe towards Seth's chest and it flung back to his hands. Lord of Dragons formed a translucent dragon and fired it like an energy blast towards Seth.  
  
"I could have Blue-Eyes wipe out your life points even more, but it's time someone else felt damage," Kaiba said. "Blue-Eyes, attack Kiyoji's Spear Dragon with White Lightning!"  
  
Kaiba's dragon obeyed as it took flight and fired a blast of bright white energy towards Kiyoji's long nosed dragon, reducing it to bits of dust.  
  
"And now I'll place three magic or trap cards face down," Kaiba declared playing his entire hand. "And I end my turn."  
  
Kaiba: 5000  
  
Jonathan: 8000  
  
Kiyoji: 5900  
  
Seth: 4400  
  
Jonathan's turn-  
  
As Jonathan drew his card, he knew what to do.  
  
"First I draw," he began, "Then I'll offer the three spell counters from Royal Magic Library to draw an additional card, putting me at nine and I'll play the magic card I drew, Pot of Greed drawing two more, putting me at 10."  
  
"Not anymore," Kaiba intervened. "I activate my trap card Power Balance!"  
  
"Power Balance?" Jonathan questioned when suddenly, a large scale appeared in between him and Kaiba.  
  
Jonathan's side of the scale was on the ground and Kaiba's high in the air.  
  
"It's a trap card," Kaiba explained. "This can only be activated when I have zero cards in my hand. First off, you discard half the cards in your hand to the graveyard. Secondly, I draw as many cards as you discarded."  
  
Jonathan had a hard time choosing which cards to discard but he eventually discarded five cards.  
  
As Kaiba drew five cards, the scale became even between him and Jonathan. The scale then faded from the field.  
  
Jonathan was baffled on what to do now.  
  
"I'll pass my turn," Jonathan said, cursing something underneath his breath.  
  
Kiyoji's turn-  
  
'Damn,' thought Kiyoji as he drew his card. 'If it wasn't for that dragon I'd be ripping through Kaiba's monsters. But this will at least buy me some time.'  
  
"I'll sacrifice Cave Dragon and The Dragon Dwelling in the Cave to summon Millennium Shield (0/3000) in defense mode and I'll end my turn." Kiyoji announced.  
  
Seth's turn-  
  
"I'm not defeated yet, Kaiba," Seth told him, drawing his card. "But I'll defeat you right here and now!"  
  
"Is that so?" Kaiba asked. "You haven't even touched any of my life points."  
  
"Well watch this," he began, "I play Premature Burial and by paying 800 of my life points, I'll bring back Cybernetic Wyvern (2500/1600) in attack mode. But I'll equip him with Megamorph, doubling his attack to 5000!"  
  
As the red-armored dragon arose from the earth, its massive size grew further. Blue-Eyes White Dragon paled in comparison to Cybernetic Wyvern now.  
  
"But I won't stop there," Seth said. "I'll equip him with Axe of Despair and Black Pendant, making his attack 6500!"  
  
As the axe materialized in Cybernetic Wyvern's right claw and the pendant around his neck, Kiyoji and Jonathan looked over at Kaiba, who was smirking.  
  
"Oh no," Jonathan and Kiyoji said in unison.  
  
"Now Cybernetic Wyvern! Attack Kaiba's Lord of Dragons, wipe out his life points!" Seth commanded.  
  
"Seth, stop!" Kiyoji shouted.  
  
"It's a trap!" Jonathan added.  
  
"What?" Seth questioned and quickly came to his senses. "Cybernetic Wyvern, stop!"  
  
But it was too late. Cybernetic Wyvern took flight and flew towards Kaiba's spellcaster. As he was halfway there, Kaiba activated his trap card.  
  
"Activate Trap!" he shouted. "Ring of Destruction!"  
  
Suddenly a metal ring lined with eight grenades wreathed around Seth's monster's neck.  
  
"Because you powered up your monster, Ring of Destruction will take all of your life points," Kaiba said.  
  
"You forgot that it deals damage to you," Seth replied. "So you're going down with me!"  
  
"Not when I activate my magic card Ring of Defense," Kaiba answered. "It'll shield my life points from Ring of Destruction."  
  
Soon after, the Ring of Destruction exploded and Cybernetic Wyvern was killed immediately. The force of the explosion hit Seth; taking away all of his life points. But a metal ring appeared in front of Kaiba. The metal ring began spinning faster and faster as it opened up revealing four blades around the metal ring. Like a fan, Ring of Defense spun extremely fast, repelling away the flames and explosion from Ring of Destruction.  
  
"You lose," Kaiba told Seth Akil, the defeated Egyptian duelist.  
  
"No..." Seth groaned as his portion of the dueling field blacked out.  
  
Kaiba: 4500  
  
Jonathan: 8000  
  
Kiyoji: 5900  
  
Seth: 0  
  
Kaiba's turn-  
  
"He... beat Seth like he was nothing," Jonathan said to Kiyoji in shock.  
  
"Seth always seemed to have the upper hand in a duel," Kiyoji reminisced. "He was never easy to defeat..."  
  
"Well times have changed," Kaiba said, drawing his card. "You two should worry about yourselves now."  
  
Kaiba began to play a card, knowing this duel would soon be over...  
  
NOTE: Youi, Power Balance, and Ring of Defense are all cards seen only in the anime and I'm not sure if they're actually cards in real life. 


	30. Kaiba VS The BlueEyes White Dragon Clan ...

"I'll sacrifice Vorse Raider and Lord of Dragons to summon my second Blue- Eyes White Dragon (3000/2500) in attack mode," Kaiba announced as his second dragon appeared to the field, roaring at its competitors.  
  
"Now my two Blue-Eyes, attack Jonathan's face down Troop," Kaiba commanded, "White Lightning!"  
  
His two dragons obeyed each firing a blast of white energy towards Jonathan's face down cards, wiping them both out.  
  
"Well one of the cards you just destroyed was Troop Dragon," Jonathan said taking out a card from his deck and placing it in face up defense mode. "And as one's destroyed one more takes it place to defend my life points."  
  
After the second dragon soldier appeared to the field, Jonathan shuffled his deck.  
  
"Well I still have one more attacker," Kaiba told him. "Giant Germ, attack the face down Troop Dragon!"  
  
Giant Germ charged towards Jonathan's Troop Dragon, encasing inside itself and devouring it inside itself.  
  
"And I still have one more defender," Jonathan told him taking out his last Troop Dragon in defense mode, then shuffling his deck. "Plus, all of your monsters have attacked already."  
  
Kaiba let out a chuckle and said, "Then I'll end my turn placing these two cards face down and end my turn."  
  
Jonathan's turn-  
  
"I'll draw," he began, "and I'll play Swords of Revealing Light, keeping you from attacking for three turns."  
  
"You're only prolonging your defeat," Kaiba said as the multiple swords rained down, keeping his dragons from attacking. "Three turns is all I need to finish off both of you."  
  
"Plus I'll play one card face down in defense mode, ending my turn," Jonathan said.  
  
Kiyoji's turn-  
  
"Three turns will probably buy us enough time to wipe you out Kaiba," the Japanese duelist said, drawing his card. "I play one card face down in defense mode and end my turn."  
  
Kaiba's turn-  
  
"This is your road to victory?" Kaiba questioned. "It looks very questionable especially when you're defending all the time."  
  
Kaiba drew his card and smiled slightly, "I'll play Monster Reborn, reviving my Kaiser Seahorse (1700/1650) and I'll sacrifice him to bring out my final Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"  
  
Kaiser Seahorse arose from the ground but illuminated white as he was offered for another summon. As he vanished, the third and final Blue-Eyes White Dragon appeared to field, each roaring towards Jonathan and Kiyoji.  
  
"All three dragons..." Jonathan said as if he was dreaming.  
  
"Good thing he can't attack," Kiyoji said.  
  
"For now," Kaiba replied. "So I end my turn."  
  
Jonathan's turn-  
  
"It's now or never!" Jonathan shouted drawing his card. "I'll sacrifice my last Troop Dragon and my face down Gray Wing to summon Tri-Horned Dragon (2850/2350) in attack mode!"  
  
As two of Jonathan's monsters vanished from the field, a vicious dark blue dragon with three horns protruding from the top of his head appeared.  
  
"Tri-Horned Dragon, attack Giant Germ!" Jonathan ordered. "Black Fireball!"  
  
Jonathan's dragon opened its mouth and black energy began to gather. As it grew to a devastating size, the dragon fired a powerful black fireball hurdling towards Kaiba's Giant Germ.  
  
"Now you've fallen into my trap," Kaiba said, activating his trap. "I activate the Crush Card Virus!"  
  
Suddenly Giant Germ began to turn purple and it soon exploded unleashing a noxious purple gas. Tri-Horned Dragon's attack missed its target and he inhaled the purple gas. The gas made him gag and fall to the ground.  
  
"Oh no," Jonathan and Kiyoji said as their decks became infected as the virus came to them.  
  
Tri-Horned Dragon eventually stopped its squirming and his body gave out and died.  
  
Kiyoji's face down card revealed itself to be a Curse of Dragon (2000/1500) and the virus did away with it.  
  
"Oh yes," Kaiba said. "It not only kills both of your monsters with more than 1500 attack points on the field, but in your hand, as well as any monster you draw. This virus lasts for three turns and that is all I need."  
  
Kiyoji groaned in anger as he discarded his entire hand of over powerful monsters to the graveyard. Jonathan however discarded four cards, leaving him with two.  
  
"I'll place this card face down and end my turn," Jonathan said.  
  
Kiyoji's turn-  
  
As Kiyoji drew his card, another Spear Dragon, he had to send it to the graveyard.  
  
"I'll pass my turn," Kiyoji said, seeing defeat in his future.  
  
Kaiba's turn-  
  
"I guess I should end this," Kaiba said, drawing a card. "I'll flip my face down card, Heavy Storm!"  
  
Suddenly, a hurricane surrounded the three duelists, taking away Jonathan's Swords of Revealing Light card from the field, causing the swords in front of Kaiba to vanish from the field.  
  
"Now my dragons are free to attack," Kaiba said. "My three Blue-Eyes White Dragons, Attack Jonathan and his Royal Magic Library, White Lightning!"  
  
The first dragon fired its blast of white energy towards Jonathan's Royal Magic Library destroying it causing the shelves to fall over and vanish to the graveyard. The remaining two dragons fired their blasts of energy directly at the English duelist for devastating 6000 life point loss.  
  
"And I'll end my turn placing one card face down, ending my turn," he said.  
  
Kaiba: 4500  
  
Jonathan: 2000  
  
Kiyoji: 5900  
  
Jonathan's turn-  
  
As Jonathan drew his card he groaned as the virus took it to graveyard.  
  
"There's only one thing I can do," he said in a forlorn tone. "I play Monster Reborn, reviving my Tri-Horned Dragon in defense mode."  
  
As his strongest dragon arose from the graveyard, both Jonathan and his dragon seemed to know what was to come.  
  
"I'll end my turn," he said.  
  
Kyoji's turn-  
  
'So this is it?' he thought. "This is the end? It can't end this way... it wasn't supposed to go this way...'  
  
"Will you draw your last card?" Kaiba asked him.  
  
"Fine," Kyoji said drawing his strongest card, Tyrant Dragon, but the virus made him put it in the graveyard. I'll... pass my turn.  
  
Kaiba's turn-  
  
"This duel's over," said Kaiba, not bothering to draw his card. "I first flip my face down card, Dragon's Rage, giving my three Blue-Eyes White Dragons just what they need to crush you."  
  
Jonathan and Kyoji looked at each other then back at the opponent they underestimated for so many years.  
  
"So you guys like Blue-Eyes White Dragon so much," Kaiba began. "Well I'm sure you've never seen the likes of this."  
  
'What's he talking about?' thought Kyoji.  
  
"Here is the power of three Blue-Eyes White Dragons combined!" Kaiba declared. "I play Polymerization fusing my three Blue-Eyes White Dragons into the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon (4500/3800)!"  
  
As the three mighty dragons merged together, what emerged was an enormous dragon, much larger than any Blue-Eyes White Dragon. This dragon however had three heads each unleashing a deafening roar capable of shattering glass if there was any in the room.  
  
Jonathan, Kyoji and even Seth who was still watching the duel looked at it in horror.  
  
"Looks like you don't know all there is about my dragons," Kaiba told them. "You three could never unlock the potential of such a dragon. Because of that, you will never have what it takes to own even one Blue-Eyes White Dragon. Now Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, wipe out Jonathan's life points, Neutron Blast!"  
  
The three heads of the dragon each powered up, gathering energy for one final blow. Then, each head fired a devastating blast of white and blue towards Jonathan's far weaker Tri-Horned Dragon. The attack atomized his dragon and the rest of his life points with an explosion.  
  
"This duel is over," Kaiba said as his Ultimate Dragon roared triumphantly.  
  
Kaiba: 4500  
  
Jonathan: 0  
  
Kyoji: 5900  
  
As the duel ended, the lights lit up and all of Kaiba's opponents were grief-stricken looking down at the ground.  
  
"As part of the deal, here's my deck," Seth said taking his out of his Duel Disk and any in his graveyard.  
  
"And... mine too," Jonathan said taking his deck out as well including in the graveyard.  
  
They walked towards him presenting their decks.  
  
"Keep them," Kaiba told them. "I do not need nor want any cards in your decks."  
  
The two of them gave a silent sigh of relief, placing their decks back in their Duel Disks.  
  
"As for you," Kaiba turned to Kyoji. "Consider yourself lucky that you get to move on to the actual tournament. If it was up to me, I'd have crushed you along with your friends. However if you manage to duel me, I won't go as easy on you as I did now."  
  
'He was going easy on me?' thought Kyoji.  
  
Kaiba walked towards the door while Kyoji's colleagues tried to cheer him up.  
  
"Take him out Kyoji," Seth said to him.  
  
"You can beat him," Jonathan said.  
  
"But what about that Ultimate Dragon?" Kyoji asked them. "We never knew about it before."  
  
"Every card has its weaknesses," Seth said to him. "You're the toughest one of us and we know you'll find something."  
  
"Kaiba's had our dragons for too long," Jonathan said to him. "You can keep my dragon when you beat him. I just want to see Kaiba squirm."  
  
"Uh... sure," Kyoji said.  
  
"Now go out there ready for any duelist until you crush Seto Kaiba," Seth said to him.  
  
"Right!" he said nodding to them both in readiness.  
  
With that, the three of them walked to the door several feet behind Seto Kaiba.  
  
'What am I going to do?' thought Kyoji. 'If I duel Kaiba again I'm going to get beat even faster. I'm going to let Justin, Seth and Jonathan down. Kaiba was right. My deck is third-rate. Could it be I've just gotten lucky through this whole tournament?'  
  
While Kyoji was still deep in his thoughts, Kaiba opened the door and he quickly forced a smile on his face as if he had beaten Kaiba already... 


	31. Salazar's Eliminators

"The four duelists to duel behind Door IV for the fourth preliminary match are..." said the suit reading from the clipboard. "Nicolas Rhodes..."  
  
The very tall man, standing 6'7" stood up walking towards the door.  
  
"Erik Olsen..."  
  
A blonde-haired teen walked towards the door looking up at Nicolas Rhodes, not trying to look intimidated.  
  
"Benjamin Forret..."  
  
A young and rather short teen with long black hair in the front of his face quickly walked towards the door joining the other two duelists.  
  
"...and Michael Laskow."  
  
There were whispers between a few duelists about the current World Championship.  
  
The last duelist called to duel behind Door IV was covered in a black robe. But after his name was called he quickly discarded it to the ground. He was wearing a black shirt, red jacket and dark blue trousers. He walked towards the door and opened the door entering in first.  
  
The rest of the duelists followed in and when the door was closed, it was electronically locked.  
  
"Well let's make this fast," Michael said turning on his Duel Disk.  
  
"You're awfully sure of yourself," Erik said turning on his Duel Disk.  
  
"Just because you won a World Championship with a Yata-Garasu doesn't really make you a world Champion," Benjamin said, turning his Duel Disk on.  
  
"You should know that you two won't get through the duel," Michael said to Erik and Benjamin.  
  
"This duel will probably last less than a half hour," Nicolas told them activating his duel disk.  
  
"Let's duel!" the four of them said.  
  
"I'll begin," Michael said drawing five cards and one more card.  
  
Michael looked at his hand and laughed while he thought, 'My first duel with these powerhouse cards and I already drew the card I need. I play...'  
  
~Meanwhile, back at the Match-Up draws~  
  
"The duelists to duel behind Door V for the fifth match are..." the suit with the clipboard said. "Dario Montalvo..."  
  
The blue-green haired duelist smirked while letting out a chuckle as he walked towards the door marked with the Roman numeral, V.  
  
"Ashley Lewis..."  
  
A skinny, brown-haired duelist walked towards the door ready for a good duel.  
  
"Taro Tanaka..."  
  
The duelist who placed fourth in the World Championships stepped up and quickly ran for the door. His hair had a lot of wild bangs in front curving up and down and each bang were dyed dark blue while the rest of his hair was a natural black.  
  
"...and Ryou Bakura."  
  
The duelist with the clipboard looked at the last four duelists and said, "You four shall duel in Door VI..."  
  
Bakura chuckled as he walked towards the door with the other three duelists. Bakura suddenly had a sinister smile came across his face and a golden ring-like object suspended by a rope appeared in the middle of his chest. Dario opened the door and walked in first with everyone following behind him.  
  
"Well to tell you the truth, Bakura here and I will win this duel," Dario said to Taro and Ashley. "So don't get your hopes up on victory."  
  
"You really have a lot of nerve," Taro said to him. "I've never even heard of any of you two and you expect me to just believe you? No freakin' way!"  
  
"I'm not backing down either," Ashley said specifically to Dario. "I'll crush you."  
  
"We'll just have to see," Dario said to him.  
  
"Let's duel!" the four duelists said, activating their Duel Disks and drawing their first five cards.  
  
"I'll start," Yami Bakura said, another card. "I'll summon to the field The Earl of Demise (2000/700) in attack mode and end my turn."  
  
A fearsome yet somewhat gentlemanly fiend appeared wielding a rapier.  
  
"Now I'll go," Dario said, drawing a card. "I place three cards face down, ending my turn.  
  
"My turn," Ashley said drawing an additional card. "I play Maha Vailo (1550/1400) in attack mode and I'll equip her with Axe of Despair raising her attack by 1000 and another 500 to make her total attack 3050. Since she can't attack the same turn she's summoned, I'll end my turn."  
  
Taro's turn-  
  
As Taro drew his card he already had a game-winning strategy in his head and in his hand.  
  
"Alright, I play Ninja Master Shogun (1600/1600) in attack mode and when he's summoned to the field, I can special summon two more Ninjas to the field." said Taro placing his first cards on his Duel Disk. "So I'll special summon Ninja Commando Kabuki (700/700) and Ninja Commander Ikusa (700/700) both in attack mode. Both of these ninjas have a special ability. When summoned, Ninja Commando Kabuki special summons Kunoichi Ayame the Ninja Girl (300/300) from my deck to the field in attack mode, Ninja Commander Ikusa meanwhile special summons Ninja Soldier Katana (400/400) from my deck to the field in attack mode.  
  
As one ninja appeared to the field, it looked like it split into three when two different ninjas moved swiftly behind him, two more ninjas behind the first two special summoned ninjas.  
  
"Now I have five monsters on the field," Taro pointed out, shuffling his deck for summoning his ninjas.  
  
"Yes, but they're all very weak," Dario told him.  
  
"To defend them, I'll play two cards face down, ending my turn," he said placing two magic or trap cards in two empty slots on his Duel Disk. "Just try and stop me now."  
  
Yami Bakura's turn-  
  
As Yami Bakura drew a card he smirked, "I'll summon Earthbound Spirit (500/2000) in defense mode and I'll place one card face down, ending my turn."  
  
Dario's turn-  
  
"None of you are safe now," Dario said to them all, drawing a card. "I flip my three face down cards, Fatal Abacus, Bad Reaction to Simochi, and Snatch Steal and I'll take control of... Maha Vailo!"  
  
Suddenly, Ashley's female spellcaster walked from her master's side to Dario's side of the field.  
  
"Now Maha Vailo's attack is increased by another 500 putting her at 3550," he said as Ashley gasped in shock. "Now Maha Vailo, attack Ashley's life points directly, Mystic Axe!"  
  
Dario's controlled monster let go of her axe but instead of it falling to the ground, it was floating in midair. Maha Vailo telekinetically hurled her axe towards her former master. The attack dealt the full 3550 attack, devastating Ashley's life points.  
  
"I believe I'll end my turn," Dario said smugly.  
  
Yami Bakura: 8000  
  
Dario: 8000  
  
Ashley: 4450  
  
Taro: 8000  
  
Ashley's turn-  
  
As Ashley drew his card, she lost 1000 life points rather than gain any life points because of Dario's Bad Reaction to Simochi trap card. She was plotting on how to reverse the damage done to her...  
  
~Meanwhile, in Duel Field IV~  
  
Several turns had passed on the dueling field and it seemed Salazar's henchmen would prevail.  
  
Nicolas had Freed the Matchless General (2300/1700), an Axe Raider (1700/1150) in attack mode equipped with an Axe of Despair, and two Marauding Captains (1200/1400) in attack mode. His monsters were impregnable from any sort of attack. Plus, he had one face down card on the field. Nicolas' Axe Raider had just finished wiping out Erik Olsen's Beast of Talwar (2450/2150) and his other three monsters have yet to attack.  
  
"Freed the Matchless General, Marauding Captains, attack Erik's life points directly!" Nicolas shouted as his strategist of a warrior obeyed, unsheathing a sword and letting it find the side of Erik.  
  
"That ends my turn," Nicolas announced.  
  
Michael: 6000  
  
Nicolas: 8000  
  
Erik: 3050  
  
Benjamin: 3600  
  
Erik's turn-  
  
Erik however was doing terribly against Nicolas's battalion of warrior cards. Because of Nicolas' Marauding Captains, his strongest monsters couldn't even attack. He would switch and attack Michael, but his monsters had a devastating effect that he wouldn't dare attack. His last line of defense was wiped out and he was open for a direct attack.  
  
As Erik drew his card, he sighed with relief.  
  
"I play Giant Trunade to send everyone's magic and trap cards back to their hands." He said, thinking he was going to turn the duel around.  
  
"Sorry, but I activate Imperial Order!" Nicolas declared, activating his trap card. "So everyone's magic cards are negated at the price of 700 life points."  
  
As a heavy wind was about to suck in everyone's magic and trap cards, but a king appeared in the middle of the field. The king raised his ringed hand and the Trunade had settled.  
  
Suddenly, Nicolas' Axe Raider's Axe of Despair faded and he was now holding his normal axe.  
  
"Damn," Erik groaned. "I'll play two cards face down and summon Humanoid Slime (800/2000) in defense mode, ending my turn."  
  
Benjamin's turn-  
  
Benjamin was the worst off. Michael's monsters were surpassing all of his defenses and each time Benjamin destroyed one of his monsters, he would simply bring out another, even stronger monster. Right now, Benjamin had an Opticlops (1800/1700) and Invader of Darkness (2900/2500), both in attack mode. He also had one magic or trap card face down.  
  
As Benjamin drew his card, he kept a serious look on his face.  
  
"Okay I'll begin by flipping my face down card, Royal Decree, negating your Imperial Order," he said to Nicolas. "And now I'll summon Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands (1400/1000) in attack mode."  
  
As the fairy with hands all over its body appeared to the field, Benjamin took a card from his deck, then shuffled the deck.  
  
"I now play Curse of the Masked Beast and by offering Opticlops and Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands to summon The Masked Beast (3200/1800) in attack mode!" he announced.  
  
Two torches each holding a blue flame appeared behind Benjamin's selected monsters and in between the two torches was another blue flame held by a shorter torch resembling a horned demon. The flames expanded and took in the two monsters as offerings. The flames then moved towards the center blue flame. Suddenly the combined blue flames ruptured burning the torch to ashes. The flames expanded to about two stories tall, and a silhouette of some inhuman creature appeared in the flames. The creature emerged from the flames revealing to be the horrific Masked Beast.  
  
"Now my Invader of Darkness, attack Michael's fiend!" Benjamin commanded. "Souls of the Damned!"  
  
His monster rose up his claws and the earth opened up. What emerged from the hole were the moaning souls of the dead. They encircled Michael's fiend, destroying it from the field.  
  
"Now Masked Beast, attack his life points directly!" Benjamin said to his powerful fiend.  
  
His Masked Beast obeyed charging towards Michael and striking him down with his staff, hitting him directly.  
  
"Now make your move," Benjamin told him grinning. "So much for the world champion being an actual challenge."  
  
Michael's turn-  
  
Michael's new monsters were a force to be reckoned with because of their ability to simply direct attack the opponent. He was laughing so much from each direct attack, he began to wheeze. This was one of the easiest duels he ever played.  
  
As he drew his card, he smirked, "I hope you enjoyed this duel..."  
  
~Back at Duel Field V~  
  
Three turns have passed and Yami Bakura had brought out a Headless Knight (1450/1700), giving him three fiends on the field. Dario had been keeping Ashley in check with her own powered up Maha Vailo. Ashley had lost 3000 life points from Snatch Steal and Bad Reaction to Simochi, and Fatal Abacus had left her only 450 life points left and any combination she tried to pull off took too long and she didn't dare play any monsters even though she was done for in the next turn with her last defending monster. Taro however had been defending all his ninjas from any attacks with his defensive trap cards.  
  
Taro's turn-  
  
When he drew his card he said, "Finally!"  
  
"First I'll stop paying for Messenger of Peace and now I sacrifice my Ninja Girl, Ninja Commander Ikusa, and Ninja Soldier Katana to summon... Gilford the Lightning (2800/1400)!  
  
As three of the ninjas vanished from the field, the sound of roaring thunder could be heard. Lightning first struck the ground, hitting all of Yami Bakura's monsters, wiping them all out. Then, another bolt of lightning hit the ground but in the crater of where the lightning hit, emerged a powerful warrior, with electricity running through his fists.  
  
Also, the beads Dario's Fatal Abacus began to move and both Taro's and Yami Bakura's life points decreased.  
  
"Every time a monster is sent to the graveyard, the original owner of that monster loses 500 life points," Dario told them. "So you both lose 1500 life points."  
  
"Fine," Taro said, continuing his turn. "Gilford, attack Bakura's life points directly, Thunderbolt Cut!"  
  
Taro's thunder warrior unsheathed his sword and channeled his electrical energy through the blade. Gilford then charged towards Bakura, slashing him down his chest.  
  
"But I'm not yet finished," Taro said to him. "I still have two more ninjas capable of attacking you. Go, Ninja Master Shogun and Ninja Commando Kabuki, attack his life points directly!  
  
His two ninjas moved swiftly and invisibly as they struck Bakura again, dropping his life points to less than 1000.  
  
"And now I'll end my turn," Taro said.  
  
Yami Bakura: 1400  
  
Dario: 8000  
  
Ashley: 450  
  
Taro: 6500  
  
Yami Bakura's turn-  
  
When Yami Bakura looked at his card he laughed evilly, "You won't be dealing damage to me anymore."  
  
"We'll see about that," Taro told him.  
  
"Very well," said Yami Bakura. "I play the magic card Change of Heart and take control of Gilford the Lightning."  
  
Taro's thunder warrior suddenly moved over to his white-haired opponent's side of the field, with what seemed to be no resistance.  
  
"Plus I'll remove Headless Knight, Earthbound Spirit, and the Earl of Demise from the graveyard to special summon Dark Necrofear (2200/2800) in attack mode." Yami Bakura declared, sliding his three fiends to not be used in the duel.  
  
Suddenly, columns of darkness arose from the ground. What emerged was an evil looking woman holding a doll. She gave a dark look towards Taro, sending a chill up his spine.  
  
"Now Gilford the Lightning, I order you to kill Ninja Commando Kabuki," Yami Bakura told the controlled monster.  
  
Gilford obeyed its temporary master striking his electrically channeled sword into Taro's weak ninja, depleting 2100 life points from Taro and another 500 from Fatal Abacus.  
  
"And Dark Necrofear, attack Ninja Master Shogun, Deadly Gaze!" Yami Bakura commanded his female fiend.  
  
Dark Necrofear obeyed and unleashed two blasts of darkness from her eyes towards Taro's strongest ninja puncturing two holes through his chest. The attack made Taro lose 600 life points and another 500 from Fatal Abacus.  
  
"I'll end my turn," Yami Bakura announced as Gilford the Lightning returned to Taro's side of the field.  
  
Yami Bakura: 1400  
  
Dario: 8000  
  
Ashley: 450  
  
Taro: 2800  
  
Dario's turn-  
  
"Your time in the tournament ends here," Dario told Ashley, drawing a card. "Maha Vailo, wipe out that face down card and your pathetic master's life points, Mystic Axe!"  
  
The controlled spellcaster obeyed hurling the axe towards Ashley's face down monster card. Maha Vailo telekinetically returned the axe back to her hand. The pebbles on Fatal Abacus moved left and right once more, depleting the rest of Ashley Lewis's life points.  
  
"What's really sad is that you lost because I took over just one of your cards," Dario said in disappointment to Ashley. "I beat you with using only three cards—pathetic. I'll end my turn."  
  
As Ashley's life points dropped to zero, her portion of the field blacked out.  
  
Yami Bakura: 1400  
  
Dario: 8000  
  
Ashley: 0  
  
Taro: 2800  
  
Taro's turn-  
  
"Don't think I'll go down so easily," Taro told the two of them drawing a card. "I'll crush the both of you! And it will start with this: I summon Gemini Elf (1900/900) and have them attack you, Dario, Twin Magic Blast!"  
  
The two elf spellcasters each fired a blast of magic towards Dario hitting him for 1900 points of direct battle damage.  
  
"Now Gilford the Lightning attack Dark Necrofear, Thunderbolt Cut!" Taro commanded.  
  
Taro's thunder warrior unsheathed his sword again and channeled the blade with electricity as he charged towards Dark Necrofear. He easily struck the female fiend down, slicing her in two.  
  
"That'll end my turn placing this card face down," he announced.  
  
Yami Bakura: 800  
  
Dario: 6100  
  
Taro: 2800  
  
Yami Bakura's turn-  
  
When Bakura drew his card he smirked, "You've lost."  
  
"Don't be so sure of that," retorted Taro, "Come next turn, you'll wish you never had to duel me."  
  
"That turn will never arrive," Bakura replied. "First of all Dark Necrofear will take control of your Thunder Lord again."  
  
"Not when I activate this," Taro said, flipping his face down card. "I activate Mystical Space Typhoon, sending your Necrofear back to the graveyard."  
  
"Doesn't matter," Bakura said. "When I play this: Monster Reborn to revive Dark Necrofear. Then I'll offer her to summon this: Great Maju Garzett!"  
  
Suddenly, Dark Necrofear vanished as quickly as she appeared. What replaced her was a gruesome and a powerful looking fiend. Suddenly it emitted a black aura as if powering up.  
  
"Great Maju Garzett gains attack power twice of its sacrifice's power," Bakura explained. "That gives him 4400 attack."  
  
"Oh no," Taro gasped.  
  
"That's right, there's nothing you can do," Bakura said, "Attack Gemini Elf, Great Maju Garzett!"  
  
The powerful fiend obeyed driving its massive fist into the twin elves.  
  
"No!" shouted Taro Tanaka as his life points dropped to zero and the duel ended.  
  
~Back at Duel Field IV~  
  
Nicolas had Erik in his hands but he was simply toying with him now. Erik had brought his strongest monster in terms of attack Zera the Mant (2800/2300) out but its brutal attack was going to waste. Benjamin had been gaining life points to cancel out Michael's powerful direct attackers however his Masked Beast destroyed the strongest one and he had hoped that was the end of it. Michael was agitated by Benjamin but he eventually broke through him with his constant attacking. Michael had landed yet another direct attack and needed only one more direct attack to beat Benjamin plus he constantly kept playing a trap card each turn stopping Benjamin's attacks. Now Michael had one more face down card in store for another attack.  
  
Nicolas's turn-  
  
As Nicolas drew his card for the turn he smirked, "Time for me to start attacking. I play Melchid the Four-Faced Beast (1500/1200) and I'll sacrifice Axe Raider and Melchid the Four-Faced to special summon Masked Beast Des Guardius (3300/2500)!"  
  
Erik gasped at the sight of this monster and knew it was the card to defeat him.  
  
"Now Des Guardius, attack Zera the Mant!" Nicolas said to his powerful fiend.  
  
Des Guardius obeyed charging towards Erik's last line of defense and slashing its mighty claws across the monster, dicing it to pieces.  
  
"Now my Warriors do away with the rest of Erik's life points!" Nicolas ordered.  
  
Freed the Matchless General and his two Marauding Captains unsheathed their swords and each slashed away depleting Erik Olsen's remaining life points.  
  
"You have been defeated," Nicolas said. "And I'll end my turn."  
  
"Aw, damn it!" Erik cursed as his portion of the field blacked out.  
  
Michael: 1700  
  
Nicolas: 8000  
  
Erik: 0  
  
Benjamin: 800  
  
Benjamin's turn-  
  
Benjamin still had his Invader of Darkness and Masked Beast out but their immense powers could do little to nothing about Michael except keep his monsters away temporarily.  
  
"All right I'll draw," he began drawing a card, "and now my monsters attack Michael's life points directly!"  
  
"Once again you fell for my trap," Michael said, "Activate Waboku!"  
  
Three robed priestesses appeared before Benjamin's monsters and prevented them from attacking.  
  
"Shit..." Benjamin muttered. "I'll... end my turn."  
  
Michael's turn-  
  
When Michael drew his card he said to Benjamin, "Remember that card you destroyed with your Masked Beast? Well he's back. I'll play Monster Reborn to revive my dragon!"  
  
Benjamin gasped in horror at the monster as it arose, chuckling at him.  
  
"Attack his life points directly one more time," Michael said.  
  
The dragon obeyed inhaling in a lot of air and unleashing a blast of energy passed The Masked Beast and Invader of Darkness and directly at Benjamin Forret, reducing his life points to zero.  
  
"This duel is over," Michael Laskow said as he and Nicolas Rhodes were the victors.  
  
In both duel fields, the four victorious duelists were silent on their victories on account they won these duels with ease. The four of them succeeded and all they needed to do now was beat their opponent in tournament...  
  
NOTE: Honestly, I do not know whether or not those ninja cards have those specific effects or if they are even real cards. Even when the show had featured the ninja cards, they were pretty vague on some of the effects.  
  
Also, I know I pretty much kept it a secret on what cards Michael used. However I gave you enough clues to figure it out. The next time Michael duels it'll be plain and clear. 


	32. The Final Twelve

When the six doors opened, the twenty-four duelists emerged. The two victors each entered first with the losers right behind them.  
  
"The twelve winners and finalists of the Duelist Kingdom Tournament are..." Croquet began, writing down the finalists names, "Ryan Stone... Joseph Wheeler... Mai Kujaku... Yugi Muto... Seto Kaiba... Kiyoji Hiraga... Nicolas Rhodes... Michael Laskow..."  
  
"What?!" Ryan said silently, "How in the hell... I beat him..."  
  
"Somethin' weird is going on," Joey said to Ryan, "ever since this tournament began."  
  
"Dario Montalvo... Ryou Bakura..."  
  
"Bakura?" Yugi questioned while gasping, "Ryou Bakura? How...?"  
  
Joey was surprised to hear his old friend's name as well, gasping.  
  
"Enigma... and Shadow."  
  
Yugi looked over to the last two duelists called and saw they were both in robes with their cowls hiding their faces. Enigma was far taller than Shadow and they both stood on their feet lifelessly.  
  
"The finalists will each be given their own room and be given a buffet as their dinner," Croquet said to the finalists. "Now will all of you follow me?"  
  
Croquet and the group of suits guided them back up the steps and towards the main hall.  
  
"So Yugi," Mai began while they were following the suits. "What was that Thousand-Eyes Restrict monster?"  
  
"It was Pegasus' strongest monster," Yugi told her. "It has zero attack and defense, but its powerful effect allows it to be one of the strongest Duel Monsters out there. It can take control of any monster and even if an opponent has a stronger monster, they can't even attack it."  
  
"Wow," Mai said.  
  
"Control of any monster..." Joey said, also listening. "How do you beat that?"  
  
"It isn't easy," Yugi told him, "but I had a De-Fusion to take it out."  
  
"So Laskow, how in the hell did you get fifteen star chips in less than five minutes?" Ryan asked him.  
  
"I've got my ways," he told him. "Let's just say I beat a few duelists in that time."  
  
"Bull shit," Ryan spat.  
  
"Well maybe I'll tell you if you can manage to defeat me again," Michael told him, then chuckled.  
  
"That Dimension Deck can't compare with my Machines," Ryan said. "I still have some cards you haven't seen yet."  
  
"Okay, we'll just have to see when the time comes," Michael said then added, "Oh Ryan, jackass-says-what?"  
  
"What?" he asked.  
  
Michael chuckled again then walked away in the crowd, leaving Ryan in a state of rage.  
  
Kiyoji Hiraga was still feeling at his lowest after what Kaiba said to him. Seth and Jonathan weren't making him feel any better with all their visions on his victory.  
  
"Kaiba won't stand a chance with your dragons," Seth said to him.  
  
"Yes, you'll just have to keep him from bringing any of his dragons out," Jonathan added, "Those dragons are what make his deck the way it is. Wipe them out and you're in the clear."  
  
'What are they talking about?' Kiyoji thought to himself, 'He easily brought out each dragon in a few turns. Did they forget about that virus card he has? All my dragons are over 1500 attack. And that Ultimate Dragon... I've never even seen that card before...'  
  
"Yeah!" Kiyoji said aloud to Jonathan and Seth, "Kaiba's not going to put a dent in my unstoppable dragons!"  
  
While his two colleagues nodded in affirmation, Kiyoji let out an unsure chuckle.  
  
Yugi walked over to Bakura and said, "Bakura!"  
  
"Yes?" Bakura asked. "Can I help you?"  
  
"What are you talking about?" Yugi asked.  
  
Joey walked beside Yugi and interrogated Bakura as, "Yeah, what's with the, 'Can I help you' stuff?"  
  
"Pardon me?" Bakura questioned.  
  
"Bakura?" Yugi asked, "Don't you remember us?"  
  
"No, I'm afraid I don't," Bakura said.  
  
"I'm Joey and this is Yugi," Joey tried to explain, "You don't remember us?"  
  
"No I believe this is the first I've met you two," Bakura said to the two of them.  
  
Yugi gasped when he heard this and before he could say another word, Joey took him away.  
  
"I-I don't understand," Yugi said to Joey, "How could he have forgotten us?"  
  
"I don't know Yuge," Joey said to him. "It's only been two years."  
  
Bakura sighed and reminisced of something Salazar said.  
  
As Bakura was about to head out with the other five eliminators, Salazar called for him.  
  
"Oh and Mr. Bakura," Salazar said to him. "There's a good chance you're identity will be discovered. If Muto or any of his friends ask any questions about you, act like you never knew them."  
  
"All right," the normal Bakura said, then walking out the door.  
  
Out of his flashback, Bakura sighed once more then thought, 'Look what's become of me...'  
  
A few minutes after, the twelve finalists, the twelve losers and the group of suits arrived back to the main hall.  
  
"Alright," Croquet began, "the winners shall proceed to the right corridor. The losers shall go to the docks for the boat ride home."  
  
"Take care Yugi and Joey," Mako Tsunami said to them.  
  
"Thanks Mako," Yugi said to the Ocean duelist.  
  
"You're quite a duelist," Kurt Schneider said to Yugi then pulling a card out of his deck, "I want you to use this."  
  
Yugi looked to at the card and read its name "Versago the Destroyer."  
  
"Whoa," Yugi looked at the card. "Thanks, Kurt.  
  
"There are not that many female duelists," Colette Thibodeaux said to Mai. "Show them what we can do."  
  
"You got it," Mai said.  
  
"Put Black Tyrano to good use," Rex Raptor told Joey.  
  
"I will," Joey said to the Dinosaur duelist.  
  
"See you later Kiyoji," Jonathan said to him. "Beat Kaiba good."  
  
"Show him that the Blue-Eyes White Dragon Clan is really all about," Seth told him.  
  
"Right," he responded.  
  
With that, the twelve losing duelists walked towards the huge metal doors as they opened automatically. A thirteenth duelist ran through the door, sneaking off from the other eleven finalists. The metal doors closed as the duelist escaped. The twelve duelists trudged on the dirt road but as they were about to arrive to the docks, someone stood in there way. The stranger was hidden in the shadows, his face couldn't be seen.  
  
"I'm sorry, but you won't be getting home," the stranger said to them.  
  
There were murmurs amongst the duelists in confusion at this.  
  
"What do you mean?" Kurt asked.  
  
The stranger stepped forward revealing himself to be Ryou Bakura. He had a sinister look on his face and a golden ring with several pointers suspended from his neck. He said to them, "Nothing personal, but I need some people to linger in a permanent dark hell."  
  
"Hey, you're one of the finalists," Rex pointed out. "What are you doing here?"  
  
"I'm here to claim your souls," the sinister Bakura said as his Millennium Ring illuminated white.  
  
Suddenly, the surroundings around the twelve darkened and an eerie purple fog crept in. Seth, Jonathan, Colette and several other duelists tried running away, but only came back where they started.  
  
"What the hell's going on?" asked one of the duelists who tried to run away.  
  
"There's no escape from the Shadow Realm," Yami Bakura told them. "You will all be here... for eternity."  
  
"Hey, some white-haired little pissant isn't sending me to hell," said Erik Olsen angrily.  
  
Erik charged towards him pulling back his right fist. When he arrived, he hurled his fist towards Bakura's face. However Bakura stepped to the side, dodging it. Bakura then rose up his leg and kicked into Erik's side sending him to the ground, clenching his side in pain. Benjamin Forret grabbed Bakura's waist from behind trying to tackle him, but his light weight failed him. Bakura responded to this by driving his elbow into Benjamin's face, causing him to let go and fall to the ground in pain. Rex and Mako each tried to punch Bakura in the face, but he knocked them both to the ground with a spinning jump kick to their heads. No one else dared to try and fight Bakura now.  
  
"Now enjoy your eternity in the Shadow Realm!" Bakura declared, laughing manically.  
  
A ghostly fog rose up on the duelists, enveloping them completely to where they couldn't see a thing. The twelve duelists all gave a bone-chilled scream as they plunged into eternal darkness. When the darkness and fog faded, Yami Bakura stood alone.  
  
"Yes... I can feel my power returning," he said to himself. "But still, it's not enough. Now, to return to the castle."  
  
~Meanwhile back at the castle~  
  
As the eleven finalists were being guided to the dining room to eat, Yugi turned his head to window.  
  
"Hey Yugi," Joey said to him. "What's wrong?"  
  
"I thought I heard something," he said to him. "I guess it was nothing."  
  
All of a sudden, Enigma and Shadow broke off from the group and went down a corridor with many doors on each side. They were the sleeping rooms for the duelists. They both took a room and shut the door. The remaining nine duelists kept walking until they arrived to an enormous dining room with a very long buffet table and sneeze guard. The long wooden table and a white tablecloth that was a bit longer so the ends could hang off the sides, and there were many tables were aligned on both the left and the right side.  
  
"You may eat until 7:30 PM," Croquet told them. "It is 6:45 right now; at 7:30 the dueling match-ups will be revealed."  
  
With that, the group of suits exited through two large doors, leaving the nine duelists by themselves.  
  
Yugi and Joey both grabbed plates and helped themselves to the wide selection of food. Yugi also grabbed a bowl and helped himself to the soup, which was unleashing a delicious aroma. He also took some other foods to satisfy his small sustenance.  
  
Joey however looked like he would need a second plate. On his plate rested several pieces of beef, several hundred grains of rice, several dozen French fries, a bowl of soup, fried fish, and three breadsticks.  
  
The other finalists retrieved plates as well to get the food to feast upon.  
  
Both Yugi and Joey sat on the far side of the table on the same side of each other. Joey was eating much faster than his shorter friend.  
  
"Mind if I join you?" asked Ryan, holding his own plate of food.  
  
"Sure," Yugi answered.  
  
"Go for it," Joey responded, finishing off his rice.  
  
"Thanks," Ryan said, sitting across from the two of them.  
  
"By the way," Joey began, starting on his fish, "Sorry about not misjudging ya."  
  
"Me too," Yugi added.  
  
"Eh, that's all right," he said, cutting his steak. "Water under the bridge."  
  
"Hey guys," Mai said, sitting right next to Ryan, across from Joey. "Back at Duelist Kingdom, how does it feel?"  
  
"Well the food's better," Joey said, starting on his soup.  
  
"The changes done here are phenomenal," Yugi said.  
  
"That's for sure," Mai said.  
  
"Oh by the way," Joey began. "Ryan, since you beat Michael, does that make you the World Champion?"  
  
"No way," said Michael, holding his plate of food. "You beat me with some cheap card."  
  
"Well didn't you win the same way?" asked Ryan. "Yata-Garasu's as cheap as they come."  
  
"Whatever," he said, "Try and beat me again, I dare you."  
  
Michael walked away and ate his food at a distance.  
  
Kiyoji sat alone in the corner of the table, picking at his food. His face was sullen as if he had died. Yugi had noticed this and looked over to him.  
  
"Hey Kiyoji," Yugi said to him, "Want to eat with us?"  
  
"Huh?" came his response, surprised anyone wanted anything to do with him. "Sure."  
  
He carried his plate and sat down on the other side of Yugi.  
  
In an instant, Kiyoji had a confident look on his face and began eating his food as fast as Joey.  
  
"So you and Kaiba made it through," Joey said to him, eating his breadsticks.  
  
"Yeah," he began, "Kaiba's tough, but he's lucky I didn't bring out my Spirit Ryu at its strongest. Jonathan and Seth couldn't have been beaten so easily, he must've cheated."  
  
"You bastard," some said to Kiyoji.  
  
Kiyoji looked up and saw Seto Kaiba.  
  
"How dare you call my dueling into question," Kaiba said to him, fully serious. "You are pathetic duelist incapable of picking up a card. If you ever have the misfortune of dueling me again, I'll crush you into the dust."  
  
After that, Kaiba left to eat his dinner. Kiyoji was silent for the rest of the dinner.  
  
After a while, the clock reached 7:30 and a group of suits, led by Croquet walked in.  
  
"As I said, at 7:30, you shall find out the dueling match-ups," Croquet said to them.  
  
Suddenly, a flat screened TV descended from the ceiling. It turned on automatically and showed two pictures of a duelist. In between the duelist was "VS." Everyone looked for their picture to find who they were dueling.  
  
"So the first round will go as so," Croquet began, "Kiyoji Hiraga VS Seto Kaiba, Joseph Wheeler VS Nicolas Rhodes, Dario Montalvo VS Ryou Bakura, Mai Kujaku VS Enigma, Yugi Muto VS Shadow, and Michael Laskow VS Ryan Stone. The opening match is Kyoji Hiraga VS Seto Kaiba."  
  
Kiyoji looked aghast. It was as if he had just been hit by a truck. Kaiba however smirked towards him.  
  
"Looks like we're going to duel," Kaiba said to him, "You aren't so lucky after all."  
  
Kiyoji didn't say a word to his opponent. Instead he exited the dining room, walked down the hall, turned to the left and picked himself a room. He quickly locked the door and wasn't heard from for the rest of the night.  
  
"Looks like our duel will come sooner than expected," Michael said to Ryan.  
  
"Perfect," Ryan said, "Now no one else will have to put up with you."  
  
"Don't be so sure of yourself," Michael said, "Just wait until tomorrow."  
  
The two rivals left the dining room and the corridor with the finalist's rooms. They each picked a room at a distance from each other.  
  
"So I'm dueling Nicolas," Joey said looking over to him, "Hey wait a minute, that's Titan."  
  
"And that guy," Mai pointed to Dario, "Wasn't that guy the eliminator, Magi?"  
  
"They must've been given second chances," Yugi said to them, but then remembered his competitor. "And I'm dueling Shadow..."  
  
As Joey concluded his dinner with a cold soda, he said to Yugi, "Well there isn't much left to do. I guess I'll hit the hay."  
  
"Sounds good," Yugi said.  
  
"If the rooms are as good as the rest of the castle, then we'll be in for a treat," Mai said to the two of them.  
  
Yugi, Mai and Joey both left the dining room, walked down the hall, and turned left and they each picked out a room.  
  
"I'll take this one," Joey said, grabbing a doorknob.  
  
"And I'll take this room," Yugi said, across from Joey.  
  
"Goodnight boys," Mai said to them, shutting the door.  
  
"Night," Joey said closing the door.  
  
"Goodnight Joey and Mai," Yugi answered back closing his door.  
  
Yugi looked around the room. It was very luxurious. On the ceiling hung an elegant chandelier with gold-like metal. The blue carpet felt soft, even though he was wearing shoes. There was a bed made of fine oak and the covers on it suited it perfectly.  
  
Yugi walked over to the bed and sat down. He pulled out the bag holding the broken Millennium Puzzle, opened it up and let the pieces scatter on the bed. He picked up the main piece holding the chain and picked up a smaller piece. He tried to piece it together, but it wouldn't fit. He tried another piece in the same spot, but that one didn't fit either.  
  
"This'll take longer than I thought," Yugi said to himself.  
  
As Yugi looked out the window, the clouds were pitch black. Suddenly a raindrop hit his window. Then another, and another. In matter of seconds it began raining hard. That didn't stop Yugi though. He continued to work on fixing his Millennium Puzzle... 


	33. Heart of a Bandit

The thunder roared again as Bakura emerged from a hole in the wall. As he walked into the center of the room, a thick stone wall descended from above, closing up the hole in the wall.  
  
"Every castle has its secret entrance," Yami Bakura said, running his hands through his doused hair. "You just need to find it."  
  
He looked around the room, seeing many boxes of assorted foods resting on shelves. This was clearly the pantry. Yami Bakura saw a door off to the left and opened it, finding a staircase leading upward. As he was about to walk up those steps, a light was traveling along the walls. He shut the door behind him and slinked up the steps ever so slowly.  
  
The light came from the flashlight of a suit, patrolling the hallway. He turned around, thinking he heard footsteps behind him. As he turned around, he was face to face with a white-haired youth with a sinister grin.  
  
"Hello," the sinister youth said before punching him across the face, knocking him down, "and goodbye."  
  
Yami Bakura's Millennium Ring shook rapidly as a dark cloud covered the suit. When the dark cloud faded, he was gone.  
  
"That would make one," Yami Bakura said to himself. "And those fourteen flunkies outside would be fifteen, plus the twelve losing duelists would make twenty seven."  
  
Yami Bakura turned a corner down the hall to find another long hallway with a corner and in the center of the hallway was a finely made, long, red carpet. He kicked the stone wall, extremely hard, making a loud noise. Yami Bakura reverted back to normal and fell to the ground, grabbing his leg.  
  
Around the corner came two suits, each holding a flashlight in their hands. They pointed them to Bakura, who was cringing his teeth in pain.  
  
"Hey what are you doing out of your room?" one of the suits asked. "This is a restricted area!"  
  
"My leg..." Bakura said quietly in pain, "I think... I think it's broken."  
  
"What? Let me see," the other suit said inspecting his leg. "This isn't broken, it feels just fi—"  
  
Bakura's face became sinister again as his "broken" leg kicked the suit in the ribs, knocking him back. With the same leg, he sweep-kicked the other guard, causing him to fall flat on his back. Bakura's Millennium Ring reacted again to the two guards, encasing them in a dark cloud big enough to hold them both. When the large dark cloud faded, they were both gone.  
  
"Now that makes twenty nine," he said to himself, chuckling in a sinister way. "Still, I need more souls to banish..."  
  
Yami Bakura walked down the hallway and turned the corner, but instead of another corner, there was a stone staircase with the carpet still following it. He walked up those steps to discover two guards guarding the doorway, with their backs facing him. He chuckled as he got ready. He kicked the guard on the left straight in the back, knocking him down face first. The other guard turned around, but he was already punched in the face, falling to the ground.  
  
"This is Yamamoto," one of the guards spoke into a walkie-talkie. "We've got an intruder, he's knocked out Jin and he's in the first basement floor and ah, ah, AAHHH!!"  
  
The security guard with the receiving walkie-talkie received static after Yamamoto's terrified scream. The room holding the walkie-talkie had nine guards sitting around, doing nothing.  
  
"Okay we've got intruder lurking on the first basement floor," one the guards said to the others.  
  
"Should we report this to Croquet?" one of the security guards asked.  
  
"No, he's probably kissing the boss's butt by now," the guard said. "Four of you, come with me. The rest of you block the stairs; make sure this guy doesn't escape."  
  
The nine guards each pulled out a pistol as they charged towards the basement stairs. As ordered four of the guards stayed at the top of the stairs, ready for anything. Because of the forked corridors, the five offensive guards split up even further with three going to the left and two to the right.  
  
The two guards going to the right had each others' back as they pointed their guns around cautiously. One of the guards looked at the wall, finding a portrait of a grotesque looking fiend.  
  
Casually, a skinny, white-haired teen turned the corner to face them. His most distinguishable trait was a Duel Disk on his left arm. He took a few steps toward them but stopped as they each pointed their guns at him.  
  
"We've got him," a guard spoke into his walkie-talkie to the other group of guards. "You might want to come over here."  
  
"They will never see you two again," the teen said to the two of them pulling a card out of his Duel Disk. "It will begin with The Portrait's Secret!"  
  
Suddenly, the picture of the grotesque fiend came alive. Its face, arms and claws emerged, unleashing a quiet growl. The claws grasped one of guard's throats and the other claw grabbed his wrist, causing the guard to drop his pistol.  
  
"Wha-what the hell!?" exclaimed the other guard in terror. "This can't be real!"  
  
The guard was about to shoot at The Portrait's Secret, but something prevented him. His feet were sinking into the ground.  
  
"You should worry about what my Earthbound Spirit's going to do to you," Yami Bakura told him, now laughing like a maniac.  
  
The guard looked down and saw a human like person pulling at his knees, which were being sucked into the ground.  
  
"Oh my God!" shouted the guard in fear.  
  
The guard shot at the Earthbound Spirit, but to no avail. He continued shooting until he ran out of ammunition. With no more means of attacking, the guard gave up as he began to sink in the ground.  
  
The other guard however was slowly being choked by The Portrait's Secret. As strong as he was, Yami Bakura's monster was stronger.  
  
"Give my regards to your other friends," Yami Bakura said to them.  
  
Earthbound Spirit had him up to his neck and starting to sputter out the mud of the monster. However his resistance gave in and Earthbound Spirit pushed him under and into the Shadow Realm. Bakura's muddy monster then faded after completing his deed.  
  
The Portrait's Secret however was only toying with its victim. After nearly killing him, the fiend released him in a state of gasping and coughing, for about three seconds. After a brief release, The Portrait's Secret grabbed him, and took him into the picture. Soon after the guard had vanished, the fiend vanished as well.  
  
As soon as the two guards were gone, the three other guards arrived. However the gunfire heard brought the attention of the four guards, guarding the stairs. All seven of them approached Bakura each pointing a gun at him.  
  
"Where the hell are they?" asked one of the guards, cocking his gun.  
  
"Who are they?" lied Yami Bakura placing a hand on the top of his Duel Disk.  
  
"Don't shit with us," the head guard said, while the other six guards cocked their guns. "We will open fire."  
  
"If you want them," Bakura began pulling the card off his Duel Disk fast. "You'll have to catch me."  
  
"Drop the card, now!" the head guard said.  
  
"No," Bakura smirked, revealing the card. "you drop your guns now, Chained Energy!"  
  
Suddenly, the guard's forearms were pulled to their sides and rings of energy surrounded their forearms, grasping them tightly.  
  
"I'll get a head start," Yami Bakura said running down the stairs.  
  
Seconds later, the guards broke free of their restraints and ran down the stairs in hot pursuit. However as they arrived, the corridor was empty. The guards slowed their pace as they were ready for anything. However the ground around the seven guards began to shake. Suddenly two halves of a steel cage arose and closed together, sealing them all in. On the outside of the cage were protruding spikes, making the guards keep their distance from the exterior.  
  
Suddenly a Ouija Board appeared in front of the sealed nine. A magnifying glass also appeared and moved along the Ouija Board. From left to right it moved around until it found the letter "D". Above the Ouija Board appeared a large "D" formed by a white fire-like matter. The glass moved around again to keep the guards guessing but soon stopped at the letter "E". Next to the letter "D", appeared the letter "E" as the glass moved again. As a few more seconds passed, the glass stopped on an "A" and a "T" as they spelled out a word.  
  
Footsteps approached the nine helpless guards from behind the corner. What emerged was Yami Bakura.  
  
"You!" the guards shouted, quickly pointed their guns at him.  
  
However, an "H" appeared next to the "T" spelling out "DEATH" on the Ouija Board.  
  
"You nine will already be gone before you have the chance to shoot," he told them, smirking.  
  
As they cocked their guns, the message formed a cloaked figure. He raised his hand, materializing a scythe as he walked through the steel cage they were trapped in. The figure swung its scythe horizontally in a wide arch, hitting them all. Instead of bleeding, they all simply collapsed to the ground. As the figure faded, so did the steel cage and the bodies of the seven security guards.  
  
"And that makes forty," Yami Bakura said, feeling the power flowing through him. "This will do for now."  
  
However something caught Bakura's eye. With his trained thief eyes, The Spirit of the Millennium Ring noticed that one of the stones on a side of the stone wall was slightly smaller.  
  
"Now what is this?" he questioned pushing the stone in.  
  
After he pushed it slightly, it automatically went in deeper. A portion of the wall moved to the sides revealing a dark, shadowy room with a small light in the distance. Yami Bakura walked through, discovering it was a long, dark corridor. As reached the end, he was in a small stone room, with two, flame-lit torches on the walls. In between the two torches was normal- sized door made of iron.  
  
"Intriguing," he commented reaching for the doorknob, finding it to be locked.  
  
Yami Bakura kicked at the door discovering it to be quite thick. As he finished kicking, his Millennium Ring began reacting wildly. All the pointers were pulling at his ring towards the door.  
  
'Could it be...?' he thought to himself. 'Yes, it is!"  
  
"This door can't hold me back," he said taking a few steps back. "Not for what's mine."  
  
He extended his right hand, tensing it up as he began to focus. Suddenly the thick iron door swung open quickly, breaking the lock off.  
  
"Now to reclaim my Millennium Item," he said walking in.  
  
Not noticing the surroundings in the room, he saw on a wooden desk, right in front of him was the Millennium Eye.  
  
"That fool," Yami Bakura said walking over to the desk. "He should've kept it with him."  
  
He took the Millennium Item and placed it in his pocket.  
  
"I suppose its late," he said to himself. "Better let Bakura get some rest."  
  
As he exited through the corridor, a motion detector caught his feet, causing the walls to close up again, looking perfectly normal.  
  
"Now that makes three," Bakura said to himself. "The last should be easy to obtain. Salazar has two left and Yugi probably has the other two."  
  
Yami Bakura walked back up the stairs to the second floor of the castle. After making a few turns, he found the hallway where the finalists were. He took the last room and reverted back to Bakura, collapsing on the bed at 9:21 PM... 


	34. Kiyoji's Influence

Kiyoji looked around, noticing he was surrounded by darkness but a spotlight of blue was shining down on him. Another spot light appeared ten feet away from him, revealing Seto Kaiba. Three more lights appeared closed to Kiyoji, revealing the other three members of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon Clan.  
  
"We finally have you all to ourselves," Jonathan told him, "With all of us here Kaiba, you won't stand a chance."  
  
Justin Grey summoned his four-winged Sky Dragon, Seth summoned his Cybernetic Wyvern, and Jonathan summoned his Tri-Horned Dragon. However, no one had a Duel Disk on their arms. All the monsters appeared as if they were real.  
  
"Attack!" they all commanded.  
  
The three dragons each unleashed their own attack towards Kaiba, who wasn't the least bit afraid.  
  
"Go Blue-Eyes!" Kaiba shouted, summoning his dragon.  
  
As each of their attacks closed in on Kaiba, the mighty white dragon arose, roaring at his opposition. The attacks each hit the dragon, but they ended up getting the dragon mad.  
  
"Blue-Eyes wipe out those pathetic monsters," Kaiba commanded, "White Lightning!"  
  
His dragon obeyed gathering energy into its mouth. After gathering an adequate amount, Blue-Eyes unleashed three blasts of pure white and blue energy to each of them. They were all atomized in an instant, leaving their three masters in shock.  
  
"Kiyoji, do something!" Justin shouted to him.  
  
"All right," he said to him. "I'll summon Hyozanryu, Serpent Night Dragon, Emerald Dragon, and Tyrant Dragon!"  
  
His three colleagues each mounted one of the dragons. Seth got on Hyozanryu's back, Justin got on Serpent Night Dragon's, Jonathan got on Emerald Dragon's, and Kyoji got on Tyrant Dragon's back. All four of them got the dragons to fly away from Kaiba and his dragon.  
  
"You can't escape my wrath," Kaiba told them, mounting his dragon. "Come forth my other two Blue-Eyes White Dragons!"  
  
On each of Kaiba's sides, appeared two more dragons of the same size and power. All three of Kaiba's dragons took flight towards the other four dragons. The three Blue-Eyes White Dragons each fired a blast of white lightning towards them.  
  
"Everyone scatter!" Kiyoji shouted to his friends.  
  
Justin and Seth veered to the left while Kiyoji and Jonathan veered to the right, each dodging the three attacks of White Lightning.  
  
"Pick a dragon," Kaiba told his three dragons. "Kill which ever one you want, just keep the Tyrant Dragon for later."  
  
Kaiba's dragons obeyed picking out the dragon they wanted. One dragon flew after Seth and Hyozanryu. That Blue-Eyes White Dragon fired several blasts of White Lightning to the diamond scaled dragon but Hyozanryu was narrowly dodging by diving down or flying upward. The mighty white dragon then flapped its mighty wings, increasing its speed dramatically. In an instant, Seth and Hyozanryu were face to face with a Blue-Eyes White Dragon. Hyozanryu folded it wings to shield itself from any attacks, but it wouldn't help. Blue-Eyes White Dragon unleashed a White Lightning attack, hitting the diamond dragon dead-on, destroying it. With no dragon, Seth fell to the ground hard.  
  
"Seth!!" shouted Kiyoji as he directed his Tyrant Dragon to swoop down and save his friend.  
  
At the same time, Justin and Serpent Night Dragon were narrowly keeping away from a Blue-Eyes White Dragon. However, Serpent Night Dragon twisted and turned its long body to evade the White Lightning attacks. However, Kaiba's dragon sped up and dove down to be underneath Justin and Serpent Night Dragon. The Blue-Eyes White Dragon then raised its head firing a blast of pure energy puncturing through the dragon's stomach. Serpent Night Dragon roared out in pain as Justin fell off the dragon hitting the ground hard. Not too far from him was his fallen friend Seth.  
  
"Justin!!" Kiyoji shouted again, trying to save both of his friends.  
  
Jonathan however had a different approach. He was attempting to wipe out the mighty dragon Kaiba was riding. Emerald Dragon unleashed stream after stream of green flames towards Kaiba specifically. However Kaiba's dragon was much faster evading each green flame that came his way. When the dragons were face to face, each dragon unleashed their attacks. The green flames were blown away by the pure white energy hitting Emerald Dragon, causing it to explode. Jonathan had narrowly escaped by jumping off the dragon. He had landed on the ground near Seth and Justin.  
  
Kiyoji got Tyrant Dragon to land on the ground. He quickly placed all of his injured friends on the dragon's back and he got in front.  
  
Kaiba's three dragons aligned in a horizontal line, with Kaiba in the center.  
  
"Now my three Blue-Eyes, take out that dragon!" Kaiba commanded, "White Lightning!"  
  
All three of the dragons fired a blast of pure energy towards Kiyoji. But Kiyoji got his dragon to take flight, narrowly missing the attack.  
  
Kaiba smirked at Kiyoji as he directed his dragons up high. All three passed Kiyoji's Tyrant Dragon, but continued flying higher and higher. As they reached a certain elevation, all three of the dragons roared loudly as they began to glow white. Kaiba leaped off the dragon he was riding and began to freefall back to the ground. His three dragons merged together creating the mighty Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon. The three-headed dragon dove down, catching Kaiba on its back and then flew towards Kiyoji.  
  
"Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, wipe them out!" Kaiba commanded, "Neutron Blast!"  
  
The three dragons each gathered a great amount of energy in each of their mouths before firing an inescapable blast of energy to Kyoji and his Tyrant Dragon.  
  
Panicking, Kiyoji performed a last resort. He jumped off of Tyrant Dragon, falling fast to the ground, back first. As he looked up, his dragon, along with his three friends were destroyed without a trace.  
  
As he continued to fall, Blue-Eyes swooped down below Kiyoji and the center head rose up, opening its mouth. Kiyoji shouted at the top of his lungs as he fell into eternal darkness that was the dragon's mouth...  
  
Kiyoji awoke with a pant and a cold sweat. He looked at the clock in his room, seeing it at 11:37 PM. He looked out at the window seeing raindrops pelting his window, with a flash of lightning out in the distance.  
  
"Damn..." he said to himself, sitting up in his bed. "Of all the people I had to duel, it had to be him."  
  
"You're sunk aren't you?" a voice asked him.  
  
"What?" he questioned, looking around. "Who said that?"  
  
"That's it, isn't it?" the voice asked him. "You're dueling Seto Kaiba tomorrow and even if you used the best combos against him, he'd still finish you off fairly easily."  
  
"Hey what's it to you?" Kiyoji asked getting out of his bed. "Show yourself, now!"  
  
Off in a corner, out of the shadows, emerged a rather tall and thin figure wearing a black robe. Out of the cowl of his robe emerged several long strands of black hair. Suspending from his neck looked like a large golden key.  
  
"Who are you?" Kiyoji asked.  
  
"I, like you, despise Seto Kaiba," he told him. "Nothing would please me more but to have him defeated in his first match and then some."  
  
"First of all, who are you?" Kiyoji questioned.  
  
"My name is of no importance," he answered.  
  
"I'll shout for help," Kiyoji replied.  
  
"I can silence you before you could open your mouth," he answered back. "I'm not your enemy. I am here to aid you in your duel against Kaiba."  
  
"So I'm getting help from a guy who's threatening me?" Kiyoji asked. "Besides, how could I defeat a world champion when he has a nearly unbeatable deck?"  
  
"There's your first problem," the black robed man said to him. "You don't even believe you can defeat him. Allow me to take a closer look to see what's in your mind."  
  
The black-robed man took the large golden key from around his neck and placed it in front of Kiyoji. Like a key in a keyhole, he turned it to the left.  
  
Suddenly the black-robed man found himself in a stone room with a door in front of him. He opened the door to find what was inside. The room he entered was curved and had several windows of Kiyoji around the building. The most noticeable thing in the room was a huge stone statue of a Blue- Eyes White Dragon in the center. Kiyoji was there too, rather confused on where he was.  
  
"What is this place?" Kiyoji asked him.  
  
"The inside of your mind," the black-robed man said. "Showing what your personality is like. You seem to have a strong grip on past events."  
  
The black-robed man then looked to the window nearest to the door, to the left, seeing a younger Kiyoji running up many flights of stairs. When he arrived to door with the number 34 on it, he pulled out a key unlocking it. He opened the door, walked in, closed and locked it quickly. He made a few turns in the room until he came across his room. He entered his room, shutting the door and pulled an opened booster pack out of a small pocket in his backpack. He took the cards out of it and dropped all but one of them. He looked at the card in awe and excitement.  
  
"I got it..." the young Kiyoji said. "YES!!"  
  
The adolescent began to jump for joy over the card. The black-robed man looked closer to see the card. It was the Blue-Eyes White Dragon. After a few more seconds of jumping for joy, the image faded to white.  
  
Soon it showed the younger Kiyoji walking into a card store. On the glass case were a bunch of rare Duel Monsters cards.  
  
"Hey Hiraga," the card store owner said to him. "Still trying your luck at getting a Blue-Eyes?"  
  
"You know it," he said, pulling out some money. "I saved up this time so I'll buy five booster packs."  
  
"Uh, about those booster packs," the owner began. "Normally I'd never say no to my best customer, but some men representing Kaiba Corp came in and bought all my booster packs."  
  
"All of the booster packs?" he asked, but had an idea. "What about your next shipment?"  
  
"That's the thing," he responded, "You've heard of Kaiba Corp, right?"  
  
"I think so," Kiyoji said, "what does that have to do with Duel Monsters?"  
  
"Well some kid named Seto Kaiba took over," he explained. "He sold out all of the company's military resources, giving him billions of money left over. He used that money to buy out almost every card store in the world, including all of Japan."  
  
"Then, does that mean..." Kiyoji he began.  
  
"It could."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"He might have the best cards, but that doesn't mean he has the card."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"I still have a few booster packs left," the owner said, pulling out a booster box. "These could be the last unopened cards in Japan. But with these cards, I have to raise their price to thirty dollars."  
  
"Thirty?!" Kiyoji shouted. "That's highway robbery! I only have twenty-one dollars!"  
  
"Hey, I've gotta make a living too you know," he began but soon sighed. "But since you're my best customer, I'll take your twenty-one bucks."  
  
Kiyoji reluctantly exchanged his money for one booster pack. He turned around opening the top gently. He looked at the card in the back of the pack, knowing that's where the rare card was placed. He looked gently at the golden words, making out, "Blue-Eyes..."  
  
He quickly placed the card back and faked a frustrated sigh. He then placed the pack gently into a small pocket, making his way to the door.  
  
"Sorry man," the owner said, "Better luck next time."  
  
"Yeah," he answered back, opening the door.  
  
As soon as he closed the door, he took a deep breath. He then sprinted away, running like a madman. When he reached the corner, he moved his legs up and down, waiting for the light allowing him to walk. When it did, he continued running again. When he reached an apartment building, a familiar scene to the black-robed man appeared.  
  
The black-robed man looked to the next window, finding a slightly older Kiyoji looking through a peephole to the door in his apartment. He opened the door for the black-robed man to see who was there. It was three large men, all in suits. Two of the suits were holding a briefcase.  
  
"Are you Kiyoji Hiraga?" one of the suits holding the briefcase asked.  
  
"Yes..." he said uneasily, placing his hand on the door for them not to see.  
  
"Mr. Hiraga," the suit began, "Kaiba Corp has discovered you hold a Duel Monsters card known as the 'Blue-Eyes White Dragon.' That card means a lot of money to us, and you."  
  
"What do you mean?" he asked.  
  
One of the suits opened up a briefcase revealing hundreds, possibly thousands of rare Duel Monsters cards.  
  
"We are willing to exchange all of these cards, upfront, for that one card," the suit holding the briefcase said. "No strings attached."  
  
The other suit opened his briefcase, revealing thousands of dollars.  
  
"Or you could sell that card to us for one million dollars," the suit holding the briefcase said.  
  
Kiyoji gasped and began wheezing.  
  
"Could you give me a moment to think about it?" he asked them.  
  
"Of course," the suit without a briefcase said.  
  
Kiyoji closed the door and sat down, against the door.  
  
"One million dollars..." he said to himself. "I can't believe it... That could get us out of this place and get a decent home... and any leftover money can get me some cards... wait a minute. Dad wouldn't want that. I was obsessed at getting this card and now that I finally have it, I can't just sell it like a used car."  
  
Kiyoji stood up and opened the door with the suits still there.  
  
"Uh... sorry gentlemen," he said to them. "The card means too much me. I hope you understand."  
  
"You'd pass up a million dollars?" one of them said, raising their voice. "You are sure?"  
  
"I'm afraid not," he said reaching for the door, "Drive safely."  
  
Kiyoji closed the door and sighed.  
  
"Wow," he said to himself, "I have a million-dollar card."  
  
The image in the window faded to white and began repeating itself with Kiyoji answering the door again.  
  
He looked at the next window to find Kiyoji walking down the street, in the same direction to his apartment. It was cloudy out and it looked the city had just been rained on.  
  
A black car with tinted windows pulled up by Kiyoji, stopping him in his tracks.  
  
Three familiar looking men stepped out of the car and approached Kiyoji.  
  
"Hello again, Mr. Hiraga," one of them said.  
  
Kiyoji took a step back, in shock, "What the... how did... what are you guys doing here?"  
  
"Do you still have that card?" he asked.  
  
"I keep it with me always," he answered. "Why?"  
  
"I'm afraid we're going to have to ask for the card again," the suit told him. "I must insist you give it to us."  
  
"Like I'd give it to you," he responded. "Besides, I don't even have it with me."  
  
"Liar, you just said you always keep it with you. I'm going to ask you one more time, give us the card."  
  
Kiyoji took a step back and shouted, "NO!"  
  
He turned tail and ran down the street as fast as he could. The three suits got back in the car and easily caught up with him. One of the suits rolled down the window to grab Kiyoji, but he turned into a narrow alley to avoid them. The three suits got out of the car again and chased him down the alley. To lighten the weight, Kiyoji took off his backpack, but not before taking a small safe out of one of his backpacks. He ran with it, now moving a bit faster, but the guards were closing in on him. As he reached the end of the alley, a garbage truck was about to drive pass him. As the garbage truck got close to him, Kiyoji threw it up high, landing right on top of the rubbish. The garbage truck kept driving by until it was gone.  
  
"Where is the card!?" one of the suits threatened, grabbing him by his shirt.  
  
"In a mound a trash," he said. "Do you feel like getting your hands dirty?"  
  
The suit groaned angrily as he threw Kiyoji to the ground. The three suits returned to their car and drove off. The image faded to white and began repeating itself.  
  
"I've seen enough," the black-robed man said walking away from the windows and turned to Kiyoji. "I understand why you hate Kaiba now."  
  
"But what's the point?" he asked him, "I'll be beaten like an amateur."  
  
"No you won't," the black-robed man said to him firmly. "You will defeat Kaiba. Nothing else matters."  
  
"Yes..." Kiyoji strangely agreed.  
  
"Pain means nothing..." he said to him. "You fear nothing... victory is life... and once you defeat Kaiba, you shall have the three Blue-Eyes White Dragons..."  
  
"Yes..." Kiyoji said, smirking.  
  
"Good," the black-robed man said.  
  
Then, he exited Kiyoji's mind and they were both back in Kiyoji's room. Kiyoji still had the same smirk on his face.  
  
"One last thing," the black-robed man said pulling out a stack of cards from his robe. "These cards will help you take out all of Seto Kaiba's strategies. Find room for them in your deck and I assure you, you'll be guaranteed victory."  
  
Kiyoji took the cards and looked at a few of them.  
  
"Yes these will do nicely," he said.  
  
The black-robed man chuckled a little as he vanished back into the darkness and was gone from Kiyoji's room.  
  
"Watch out Kaiba," Kiyoji said to no one in particular. "I'll crush you and I will reclaim my Blue-Eyes White Dragons."  
  
He then began taking out cards to be able to put in the new cards he was given, absolutely certain in his victory... 


	35. Revenge from the Past

Ryan was still working on his deck, trying to make his deck pure machine.  
  
"No that's too many magic cards," he said to himself looking at his deck. "Not enough trap cards."  
  
He deconstructed his deck again, separating the magic cards from the trap and monster cards.  
  
"Hmm, I know I'll keep Skill Drain," he said placing away from the other traps.  
  
He placed Kaiser Glider, Sapphire Dragon, Nin-Ken Dog, Harpie's Brother, Archfiend Soldier, Makyura the Destructor and several other non-machine cards into another pile.  
  
"Eh, Makyura always comes in handy," he said putting it on top of Skill Drain.  
  
He continued placing cards in his deck, but was soon taking them back out trying to make his deck absolutely perfect as it could be...  
  
~Meanwhile, in Joey's room~  
  
Joey was still trying to come up with combos he could use.  
  
"Mako's Crab Turtle and Rex's Black Tyrano will help me out a lot," he said, looking at them. "If I could equip them with a United We Stand, alone they could do a lot of damage. Knowing Titan, he's going to go try and overpower me with his own strong monsters... but with these new monsters, he'll never win."  
  
Joey put in Black Tyrano, Crab Turtle, and Turtle Oath without taking any cards out and was satisfied on his improved deck. But then he began to get second thoughts.  
  
"Maybe I should take something out," he said, looking through his deck to decide. "Gilford the Lightning and... Swordsman of Landstar."  
  
Joey took out the two monsters, but not carelessly discarding them as he looked through his new deck. He shuffled it a few times to see what he got on his first draw...  
  
~Meanwhile~  
  
As the hour reached midnight, the black-robed man stumbled into Salazar's office. He removed the black cowl from his head revealing himself to be Vincent Salazar. He discarded the robe completely, leaving him with a white buttoned shirt with black trousers. The Millennium Ankh was still in the robe, as if Salazar didn't care about it.  
  
"Kaiba will have a hard time dueling him now," Salazar said to himself. "Besides, I need to see how he uses Obelisk in a duel."  
  
He walked around his desk and sat down in the wheeled desk hair. He set the Millennium Rod off to the side of his desk as he turned on his computer and clicked on a button revealing several files. One file was updated reading "The Twelve Finalists." As he was about to click on it, a knock came at the door.  
  
"Come in," he said to the knocker.  
  
The door opened revealing Croquet.  
  
"Master Salazar," he began, "The twelve duelists have been decided. Both Seto Kaiba and Yugi Muto have made it."  
  
"I expected no less," he told him. "You may go now."  
  
"S-sir," Croquet said to him, not moving.  
  
"Is there something else I should know?" Salazar asked.  
  
"Well yes," he began. "The twelve losing duelists at the preliminaries never made it to the boat. They've disappeared."  
  
"I see," Salazar responded, as if knowing what was going on. "Anything else?"  
  
"Yes, we have lost contact with 28 of our security personnel at least three hours ago," he said.  
  
"Why am I just learning this?" Salazar asked, as he raised his tone. "Do you know who it is?"  
  
"Y-yes sir we do," Croquet said, fear growing in him. "Security cameras identify the culprit as... Mr. Bakura. He also reached the third level basement and somehow discovered the secret passage..."  
  
As a flash of lightning shot through Salazar's window, his face remained unchanged.  
  
"That will be all Croquet," Salazar said to him.  
  
"But sir..."  
  
"I hate repeating myself, Croquet," Salazar said to him.  
  
In an instant, Croquet left the room shutting the door quickly.  
  
The roar of thunder and the flash of lightning came out his window. Enraged, Salazar stood up, knocking his desk chair over.  
  
"Steal one of my Millennium Items, will you, Bakura?" Salazar said to himself, grabbing the Millennium Rod, unsheathing it. "You've crossed the line now. I'll take you out right now, by myself."  
  
As another roar of thunder could be heard, Salazar's body suddenly began to shake. Beads of sweat began to gather on his forehead. His shaking right arm dropped the two pieces of the Millennium Rod, causing them to move at a far, unreachable distance. He began to breathe heavily as he fell to the ground, clenching his pounding head.  
  
"Damn it," he said to himself. "Not again..."  
  
As if he knew what to do, he crawled towards the bottom left desk drawer and pulled out a framed picture. The picture depicted a younger Salazar standing next to a pretty woman. In front of the two of them were three children each of youthful ages. Tossing the picture aside, he pulled out a bottle of tequila. He opened it up only to find it empty. Impulsively, he threw it to hit the wall, shattering it. He then helped himself up and walked towards the discarded picture noticing a crack on the frame glass. He opened the liquor cabinet above the picture and pulled out a bottle of tequila...  
  
~Meanwhile, in Yugi's room~  
  
Yugi had been working hard on the Millennium Puzzle the whole time. He had worked so hard that he only had four pieces left. He put in the pointy piece at the bottom of the puzzle, seeing it fit perfectly. He then placed the piece that was pointy on one side into a top piece, nearly completing it. He placed an oddly shaped piece into a hole, nearly filling it up.  
  
"Here's the last piece," Yugi said holding the puzzle piece with an eye on it.  
  
Yugi placed it in the last empty hole, completing the puzzle. The puzzle suddenly began to illuminate white, even brighter than the lightning outside. When the light faded, Yugi was greeted by an old friend.  
  
"Hello again, Yugi," the Spirit of the Puzzle said.  
  
"Yami?" Yugi asked.  
  
"Yes Yugi," the spirit said. "How have things been?"  
  
"You wouldn't believe it," Yugi began. "I had to duel three times without you. Each duel seemed like my last."  
  
"And yet here you are, in the finals," the spirit said to him. "You're a better duelist than you give yourself credit for."  
  
"But something else troubles me," Yugi said.  
  
"What's that?"  
  
"Half the people here are dueling for Salazar. One of them is Bakura, but he doesn't remember me or Joey."  
  
"Hmm... that's rather interesting. I shall have to see that for myself. Is there anything else I missed?"  
  
"I ended up getting a new card," Yugi said, thumbing through his deck until he found it. "This one, Versago the Destroyer."  
  
"That's a fine card Yugi," the spirit said to him. "It makes a fusion much easier to accomplish."  
  
"Yeah that's true."  
  
"But there's something I've been thinking about," the spirit said to Yugi.  
  
"What's that?" asked Yugi.  
  
"Well if Salazar has control of Shadi, he must have control over his Millennium Ankh."  
  
"That makes sense."  
  
"Also, if this is really Bakura that's here, then I wouldn't be surprised if the Millennium Ring was here as well. Plus, we hold two Millennium Items as well and Salazar has the Millennium Rod along with the Millennium Ankh. That means five of the Millennium Items are on this island. I wouldn't doubt that the remaining two Millennium Items are on this island as well."  
  
"Do you think he wants all of the Millennium Items?"  
  
"I wouldn't doubt it. But why does he want them? And how did he obtain the Millennium Rod to begin with?"  
  
"Those are my same questions. But I doubt we'll figure it out, tonight."  
  
"You're right. It's getting late; I think we should get some sleep Yugi. We're both going to need it for tomorrow."  
  
Yugi nodded as he got ready for bed. He took off his blue jacket and pants, placing them at the foot of his bed. He made sure that the door to his room was locked but to make sure, he leaned a chair back, blocking the door. Afterwards he placed his two Millennium Items on each side of his pillow; the Puzzle on his right and the Tauk on his right.  
  
"Goodnight Yami," Yugi said to the Millennium Puzzle as he began to drift off into a sleep at 12:17 PM...  
  
As several hours passed, a bright light hit Yugi's closed eyes, waking him up.  
  
"Wha? It's too early to be sunrise," Yugi said, rubbing his eyes.  
  
Yugi looked out the window to still find it raining. He looked down and saw it was the Millennium Tauk glowing brightly.  
  
"What the...?" Yugi questioned.  
  
He picked up the Millennium Puzzle, putting the chain around his neck. Quickly, he changed into his Yami Spirit, so he could inspect the Millennium Tauk.  
  
'Why is it glowing?' Yugi asked the Spirit of the Puzzle through thought.  
  
'I'm not sure,' he responded. 'But maybe it's trying to show us something.'  
  
Yugi grasped the Millennium Tauk, putting it around his neck to see what would happen. Suddenly, the Tauk illuminated even brighter, turning the whole room white.  
  
Yugi closed his eyes from the brightness, but when he opened his eyes, the room had faded out and he was surrounded by darkness. Even more stranger, both he and the Spirit of the Puzzle were in physical form. Around the Spirit's neck was the Millennium Puzzle, while around Yugi's was the Tauk.  
  
"Where are we?" asked Yugi.  
  
"The Tauk is showing us a vision," the spirit explained. "We should be seeing something shortly."  
  
It was so, the darkness soon faded away as Yugi and the Spirit appeared in a building with extremely tall windows. Yugi looked out of the windows to find them to be at a very high level.  
  
"We must be in a business building," Yugi said to the Spirit, looking back at them.  
  
Suddenly, a door opened and out walked two men, both in business suits. Both of them were oddly familiar to Yugi and the Spirit. One had a black pony tail with several long hairs on the side, wearing a black three-piece suit. The other had a thick mustache and wore a red business suit. They were both carrying on and laughing as if they were both friends.  
  
"You are one class act," the man in the red suit said as he walked around to his desk. He sat in the desk chair while the black-suited man sat in a chair in front of the desk.  
  
"Anyways back to business," the man in the red suit said in his gruff voice, "You wish to merge your company with mine, correct?"  
  
"Indeed," the other man said, "As you can see, Spain's militaristic market has nowhere to go, but up. I guarantee your profits will increase tenfold."  
  
"Tenfold, huh?" the man in the red suit asked in interest. "If you can accomplish that, you might find yourself in a higher position here at Kaiba Corp."  
  
"Thank you sir," he responded.  
  
The red suited man then pulled out a contract for the other man to sign. The man did so and when he finished, the two of them gave a handshake. After that, the man in the black suit walked out of the room.  
  
"Were those two..." Yugi was about to ask the Spirit of the Puzzle.  
  
"Yes," he answered, already knowing. "Gozaburo Kaiba and Vincent Salazar. It seems they were business partners."  
  
Before Yugi could ask another question, the scenery around them changed. Outside the blue, partly cloudy skies turned thick and gray. Gozaburo Kaiba, sitting in his chair, was replaced by a young teen with brown hair and deep blue eyes.  
  
"Kaiba!" they both said in surprise.  
  
Kaiba pressed a button on the desk's intercom and spoke into it, "Send him in."  
  
Through the doors, in walked the same man from the previous vision. This man however had a look of fear on his face.  
  
"Salazar..." the Spirit said, inspecting his face.  
  
"Well Mr. Salazar," Kaiba began, "You know why you're here, don't you?"  
  
"I'm afraid I don't," Salazar answered. "Please tell."  
  
"You're here because I've made a decision," Kaiba told him. "And as the head of Kaiba Corp in Spain, it's rather effective to you."  
  
Salazar began to gather sweat as he was about to hear the words he feared.  
  
"Since Kaiba Corp is under my management, now," Kaiba began. "No longer shall Kaiba Corp make war machines, but gaming software. That leaves no place for you or Spain. Vincent Salazar, you're fired."  
  
Salazar gasped as soon as he heard those two words. He fell to his knees, unable to stand up.  
  
Kaiba pressed another button on his desk and two guards came in.  
  
"Show Mr. Salazar the way out," Kaiba ordered them.  
  
The two guards nodded pulling Salazar up and escorted him out of the room.  
  
"We should have seen that coming," the Spirit of the Puzzle said to Yugi.  
  
"What do you mean?" Yugi asked.  
  
"First, it seems Salazar managed to increase Spain's military productivity by ten times. Gozaburo Kaiba apparently was pleased with his work so he put him in charge of Kaiba Corp in Spain." Yugi explained. "But all Spain had to offer was military resources and Seto Kaiba was not interested in keeping a Kaiba Corp in Spain, so he sold it."  
  
"Hmm..." Yugi muttered while he thought to himself. 'So Salazar knew Kaiba before the tournament... interesting.'  
  
The scenery around Yugi and the Spirit of the Puzzle changed again. The thick gray clouds turned black and were pounding with rain, much like the weather at Duelist Kingdom now.  
  
Kaiba had aged considerably, looking like the Seto Kaiba of the present date. He was currently typing on his computer, in the same desk chair and desk.  
  
Suddenly, the two doors flung open, much to Kaiba's, Yugi's, and the Spirit's surprise. The same man in a black suit walked in, armed with a briefcase in his left hand.  
  
"Salazar," Yugi and the Spirit said.  
  
"Good afternoon Seto," Salazar said to him, smugly. "My you've grown since I last saw you."  
  
"Who are you?" Kaiba questioned. "And how did you get passed all the security?"  
  
"That doesn't matter," he replied. "Now listen close. I'm going to make you the deal of your life."  
  
Kaiba pressed a button underneath his desk to alarm the security, but it seemed to do nothing.  
  
"That won't do you any good," Salazar told him. "Your security is not as good as you would think. Now for my deal: I am willing to give you something you've desired for so long."  
  
"What are you talking about?" questioned Kaiba. "What could you have that I would want?"  
  
"The Immense Devine Soldier of Obelisk," he answered.  
  
Kaiba gasped as soon as he heard that name.  
  
"You lie!" Kaiba said told him. "Now get out of here before I deal with you myself!"  
  
Salazar sighed as he began to open his briefcase. When he opened it, he pulled out a Duel Monsters card showing Kaiba its blue color. Kaiba gasped as he saw it, in even bigger disbelief.  
  
"How... how did you get this!?" shouted Kaiba, standing up from his desk.  
  
"I won't bore you with the details," Salazar said. "But here's what you're going to do: pull out of this year's World Championship Duel Monsters Tournament, and this card will be yours."  
  
"What do you mean?" Kaiba asked, in anger. "You have the audacity to barge in here and force me to do something?! Get the hell out of here, now!"  
  
"I'm so sorry you feel that way," Salazar told Kaiba, digging into his pocket with his free hand. "Since you're the only one worthy of using this card, it has no real value..."  
  
He pulled out a match and flipped it open. Lighting the spark, a flame ignited on the lighter.  
  
"I'll just get rid of it right now," he continued, putting the flame closer and closer towards the card.  
  
Kaiba's firm face quickly faded as he eyed the card.  
  
"Hold it," Kaiba called to him.  
  
"What?" Salazar asked, pausing the flame, making it at less than inch away from burning the card. "This card's useless. I'm doing everyone a big favor by getting rid of this atrocity."  
  
The Spirit of the Puzzle looked at Kaiba's expression.  
  
"That is the real Egyptian God Card," the Spirit said to Yugi. "Kaiba knows it is too."  
  
"No, STOP!" Kaiba shouted.  
  
"Does this mean you'll consider my offer?" asked Salazar, moving the card, ever so slowly towards the flame.  
  
"Yes..." Kaiba said, defeated.  
  
In an instant, Salazar closed his lighter, putting out the flame and back into his pocket.  
  
"Fantastic," Salazar said, placing Obelisk back in his briefcase. "You'll get the card after the tournament is done with. By the way; if you enter the tournament, I will know and Obelisk will be extra crispy."  
  
Kaiba growled in anger but asked him, "Who are you?"  
  
"Remember my name, I'm Vincent Salazar," he answered. "I'll show myself out."  
  
With that, Salazar turned around and walked out of the Kaiba Corp building without one guard to apprehend him.  
  
Kaiba soon began rubbing his temples as he said, "Salazar... why does that sound so familiar?"  
  
The Kaiba Corp building soon faded out, leaving Yugi and the Spirit of the Puzzle in darkness again.  
  
"So that's why Kaiba wasn't in the World Championships," Yugi said. "Salazar must really hate him."  
  
"But I don't think he would be mad for only getting fired," the Spirit said. "It must go much deeper than that."  
  
After the Spirit finished his sentence, the darkness vanished and the two of them were back in Yugi's room. However only Yugi's body was the only one present now, wearing both of the Millennium Items.  
  
Yugi yawned and looked at the clock, seeing it was 1:18 AM.  
  
"Well it's late," Yugi said, taking off the Millennium Items. "I should get some sleep."  
  
He placed the Millennium Puzzle off to the side of his bed, while placing the Millennium Tauk on the ground, by his shoes.  
  
"Goodnight," Yugi said to the Puzzle as he quickly fell to sleep... 


	36. The Finals Begin!

"...gi! ...ugi! Yugi!" shouted a voice.  
  
"Huh?" Yugi mumbled, still half-asleep.  
  
A thundering pound rang through Yugi's ears, forcing him to awaken. He looked around to see someone was pounding hard at the door.  
  
"Yugi!!" shouted a familiar voice to Yugi as the pounding continued.  
  
"Joey!" Yugi exclaimed then looking at the door, noticing the chair he blocked it with. "Oh right, the chair."  
  
Yugi got out of bed and walked over to the door. He slid the chair from underneath the doorknob and unlocked the door. He opened the door to find a surprise.  
  
"I'll break the door down!" shouted Joey who was running towards the now open door at top speed.  
  
Yugi yelled out in surprise as he got out of the way. Joey however kept running until he ran into the bed, flipping himself on to the other side, twitching on the ground.  
  
Mai and Ryan, who were also at the doorway tried as best as they could to stifle their laughter, from Joey's stunt. However in a few seconds, they were laughing pretty hard.  
  
Yugi walked over to the bed and helped Joey back up.  
  
"Are you okay?" Yugi asked, pulling him up.  
  
"Just fine..."Joey groaned as he got back on his feet.  
  
As Joey regained his balance he asked: "Didn't you hear me knocking the first time?"  
  
"Nope," Yugi answered. "I got to bed late last night."  
  
"Usually, you're a light sleeper," Joey told him, "Anyways it's a quarter until 8:00 and you've got fifteen minutes until the breakfast buffet is closed."  
  
"Okay," Yugi responded, but realized. "Let me get some pants on first."  
  
Yugi quickly slipped his plants on, put on his shoes and socks and walked to the door.  
  
"Oh wait," Yugi said running back to his bed. "Almost forgot the Millennium Puzzle."  
  
Yugi grabbed the chain of the puzzle and placed it around his neck. He adjusted so that the puzzle would hang near his stomach. He then closed the door on his room, meeting up with Mai and Ryan.  
  
"Morning Yugi," Mai said, "Sleep well?"  
  
"Yeah," he answered her, then turned to Ryan. "How about you, Ryan?"  
  
"I've slept better," he told Yugi. "I was up until 2:00 AM, trying to make my deck as best as a machine deck. I ended up putting in several of some non-machines."  
  
"Well if you worked that hard, I bet it'll be one tough deck," Yugi replied.  
  
"Yuge, let's go to the dining room," Joey said, "They've got the best steak and eggs ever!"  
  
"The French Toast is to die for," Mai said. "The cooks made it absolutely perfect."  
  
"I had the pancakes," Ryan added, "Simply divine."  
  
"Okay let's go," Yugi said, walking out of the hallway.  
  
The other three followed closely behind, unaware of a lurker hiding behind the corner.  
  
As the three turned the corner, the person made their move. Moving towards Yugi's room, the person slipped into Yugi's room unnoticed and completely silent.  
  
"That fool," he said, looking at the foot of Yugi's bed. "He's so careless."  
  
He grabbed the golden Millennium Item known as the Millennium Tauk.  
  
"Four..." he said to himself as he exited the room, without having to sneak around...  
  
Meanwhile at the dining room  
  
"Whoa!" exclaimed Yugi at the sight of the massive breakfast selection.  
  
Pancakes, waffles, French toast, steak, eggs, bacon, and various other breakfast foods sat on the long buffet table.  
  
Yugi grabbed a plate and some utensils as he placed a few foods on his plate. He put two stacks of pancakes with syrup, a few scrambled eggs and a glass of milk. He took his food over to the dining table and began eating.  
  
"We'll wait for you to finish," Joey said to his friend.  
  
As Yugi began eating, he looked around the table to find a few other people eating.  
  
First, he saw Kiyoji, eating scrambled eggs with a self-made breakfast burrito. Looking at his face, it was emotionless. He had his teeth clenched in a smug smirk but released it for each bite of his burrito. He was also eyeing Kaiba each time he could, laughing a little each time.  
  
Seto Kaiba was sitting on the far side eating a steak with various other foods.  
  
'Kaiba's mainly in this tournament to get even with Salazar,' Yugi thought to himself. 'And Kiyoji's here to get even with Kaiba. But he's acting differently from last night...'  
  
Yugi then continued to eat his food, finishing off his eggs and the first pancake.  
  
"Attention all finalists," came Croquet's voice over the intercom in the dining room. "Please report to the main hall, immediately."  
  
Quickly, Yugi drank down his milk, and left his remaining pancake. He walked back over to Joey, Mai, and Ryan.  
  
"Alright then," Joey said to the other three. "Let's move out!"  
  
The three nodded as all four of them walked down the hallway, followed by Bakura, Kaiba, and Kiyoji.  
  
A few minutes passed and they soon arrived to the main hall. Michael, Dario, Nicolas, Enigma, and Shadow were already there, waiting.  
  
"About time you got here, Stone," Michael said to Ryan. "Better late than never, I suppose."  
  
"Well I'm here, aren't I?" asked Ryan.  
  
"Didn't get much sleep, did you?"  
  
"Why do you care?"  
  
"Busy rebuilding your deck? I wouldn't blame you. My deck is superior to you and your metal pieces of crap."  
  
"And I suppose your retarded dimensions will save you? I guess you didn't learn the first time."  
  
"My deck's plenty different now. My dimensions are the least of your problems, now."  
  
Before Ryan could comment him, Croquet and a group of suits emerged from the left corridor.  
  
"All right, follow me," Croquet told the finalists, leading them back to the left corridor.  
  
All twelve finalists obeyed each following the suits at their own pace. They followed down the same path they went for the preliminaries. Just like the first time they walked here, Salazar's six eliminators were tailing the group.  
  
The group arrived to the large metal door, watching it open up automatically like last time. As they passed through, they arrived to the rather wide, spiral stone staircase...  
  
Meanwhile, at Salazar's Office  
  
Salazar had drunk the entire bottle of tequila and several other bottled alcohols which left him passed out in his trashed office. It was remarkable that he hadn't succumbed to alcohol poisoning.  
  
"Ugh..." Salazar groaned as he got himself up.  
  
He looked at a shard of a broken mirror to discover himself a mess. He looked around to see his room was no better. Off in the corner, he found the covering of the Millennium Rod and its blade right next to it. He walked over and sheathed it as he let out a wheezy cough.  
  
"Maybe I'll take a shower," he said, walking to an adjacent room to his office...  
  
Meanwhile  
  
As the group of suits and finalists arrived to the end of the staircase, there they met the room with seven metal doors all around, each depicting a Roman-Numeral.  
  
The suits walked over to the door reading "VII" and opened it up, but didn't enter just yet.  
  
"This door holds the elevator to the dueling field," Croquet told them. "For safety precautions, only five finalists shall go at a time, along with two guards."  
  
After a brief pause, Yugi decided to go in first. Following him came Joey, Kaiba, Mai, Ryan, and two suits. It was a rather short corridor with a regular-sized elevator. All seven of them got in easily with somewhat of breathing space. One of the suits pressed the button with an arrow pointing down and the elevator descended.  
  
'Why are there so many twists and turns in here?' thought Yugi. 'It's as if Salazar has something to hide.'  
  
After about a minute, the elevator stopped and opened up. As the group of seven emerged from the elevator, they stood on a stone surface. Ahead of them was a three-foot-tall stone gate, indicating they were on a balcony. Across the stone gate was another stone gate, with two wooden double doors several feet behind it. As the finalists looked around, one of the suits pressed a button on the elevator, causing it to go back up.  
  
Yugi and Joey looked below from the balcony they were on to see a dueling field, a flat metal surface what seemed to be made of 25 5x5 metal squares.  
  
"So that's where we'll be dueling?" Joey asked a suit.  
  
"Yes," he answered.  
  
"Compared to the other stuff I've seen in the castle, this is the cheapest," Joey commented.  
  
"By far," added Mai, unimpressed with the dueling field. "Salazar couldn't even make another simple arena, like the ones outside?  
  
"Oh, you might be surprised," the suit told him.  
  
"What do you mean?" asked Joey.  
  
"You'll find out," he answered, chuckling.  
  
Soon the elevator descended down again bringing out Michael, Dario, Bakura, Nicolas, Kiyoji, and two more suits. Just like before, one of the new suits pressed the same button, returning the elevator back up. A few moments later, Shadow and Enigma arrived, accompanied by the remaining four suits.  
  
"The duels shall commence as soon as Mr. Salazar arrives," said Croquet. "Seto Kaiba and Kiyoji Hiraga, ready yourselves, for you are the first to duel."  
  
Kiyoji was shuffling his deck, eagerly anticipating his victory. He still had his maniacal smirk on his face.  
  
Kaiba walked over to Kiyoji and asked him, "Are you ready to duel?"  
  
"More than ever," Kiyoji answered. "Your cards can no longer compare to mine now."  
  
Kaiba simply chuckled at what Kiyoji said, before walking away.  
  
On the parallel side of the balcony, two double doors opened up, revealing Vincent Salazar, accompanied by no one. He looked much better before, now wearing a new business suit. He merely stood there as he announced: "Now that I've arrived, let the dueling arena arise!"  
  
Suddenly, the metal platform arose and was at equal surface with the balcony. The stone gate in front of the finalists dropped, fitting perfectly with the floor.  
  
"Will Seto Kaiba and Kiyoji Hiraga step onto the arena?" Croquet asked, as he walked onto the field as well, and crossing to Salazar's side. "I shall be the official judge of this duel."  
  
Kaiba took the right side of the field, while Kiyoji took the left side.  
  
"Now for the Virtual Field," Croquet said, as a flat screened television descended from the ceiling, making various pictures appear.  
  
"Virtual Field?" asked several of the finalists.  
  
"Every duel during the first round shall have a different virtual climate," Croquet explained. "They are to test your strength and are randomly chosen. To test your endurance, each time you lose a life point during the duel, you shall feel it from the pain simulators put into the field."  
  
Yugi looked at the television screen, seeing a silhouette of a storm cloud with lightning about to strike the ground, another image was a silhouette of what looked like a snowflake, then a ball of fire, and various others. Soon, the images began to slow down, and stopped on the storm cloud.  
  
"The first Virtual Field shall be the Tempest Field," Croquet announced, as the flat TV turned at ninety-degree angle, facing the finalists, but behind it was another TV screen for Salazar and Croquet to watch.  
  
Suddenly the metallic platform Kaiba and Kiyoji were on began to glow white. The platform then dropped to seven feet. The walls around the two duelists were also made of metal, and were glowing white as well. Another metal surface covered the balconies again, sealing Kaiba and Kiyoji in.  
  
The glowing ceased inside the Virtual Field and changed in color. Kaiba and Kiyoji now stood on a grassy plain in that went on as far as the eye could see. Up above, the sky was black with storm clouds. Soon rainfall came, hitting every single blade of grass as a cold wind blew around the two. Lightning was striking off in the distance, but looked like it would soon come pay the two a visit. It didn't even look like Kaiba and Kiyoji were in a metal box anymore.  
  
"Wow," Joey said amazed with what he saw on the TV, "More virtual reality."  
  
"I'll say," Yugi said, "This is even more realistic than the white rooms we dueled in."  
  
"So are you prepared to lose?" asked Kaiba, turning on his Duel Disk.  
  
"That's my line," Kiyoji replied, activating his Duel Disk. "By the way, I'm wagering my entire deck for four of your Duel Monsters cards."  
  
"Why four?" asked Kaiba, "There are only three Blue-Eyes White Dragons left."  
  
"The fourth card is for the one you destroyed," Kiyoji explained. "But when I get through with you, I'll make sure you're humiliated worldwide."  
  
"You talk big," Kaiba said. "But you have nothing to back it up. I'll accept your terms anyhow. You won't even take me down to half of my life points."  
  
"Let's duel!" both of them said, as their life points rose to 8000 and they drew their first five cards.  
  
As they began a loud crash of thunder roared throughout the Virtual Field and out of the TV for the finalists to hear... 


	37. Tempest Field: Kaiba VS Kiyoji Part I

As the black clouds gathered more and more, Kiyoji stared daggers at Kaiba, who didn't look the least bit intimidated.  
  
"I'll start this off," said Kaiba, drawing a sixth card. "And believe me. This duel will be over in a matter of turns. And it starts with this: I set one card face down in defense mode and end my turn."  
  
Kiyoji's turn-  
  
"Only one card?" Kiyoji asked, drawing his first card and examining his hand. "That's going to cost you dearly."  
  
"Is that so?" Kaiba asked skeptically. "You only dealt me damage one time, and it wasn't even that impressive."  
  
"Well watch this," Kiyoji began, "I play Graceful Charity, allowing me to draw three cards and discard two. I'll even tell you what I discarded: Tyrant Dragon and Lord of Dragons."  
  
Kaiba remained silent, waiting for him to finish his turn.  
  
"But I play Silent Doom," Kiyoji said, placing it in an empty magic/trap slot. "And I'll revive Lord of Dragons (1200/1100). However, since I used Silent Doom, it has to stay in defense mode, but that's quite all right..."  
  
Kiyoji's spellcaster arose from the ground, smirking at Kaiba.  
  
"Because I play the Flute of Summoning Dragon!" he said, playing another magic card. "And I summon to the field Serpent Night Dragon (2350/2400) and Emerald Dragon (2400/1400), both in attack mode!"  
  
As Lord of Dragon's flute appeared before him, he grasped it and played a single note.  
  
Off in the distance, both Kaiba and Kiyoji, along with the sound provided for the spectators outside if the Virtual Field, they could hear two separate roars.  
  
Soon, what appeared before Kiyoji were a midnight blue dragon with a long, curved body and shimmering emerald scaled dragon with two mighty wings. They lowered their altitude and faced Kaiba, ready to fight.  
  
"But that's not all," Kiyoji continued, "I'll sacrifice my Lord of Dragons to bring out Seiyaryu (2500/2300)!"  
  
As Kiyoji's spellcaster returned to the graveyard, a winged dragon with spikes and claws in many areas.  
  
"Whoa!" Joey exclaimed, watching the flat-screened TV from the sidelines. "Kiyoji's brought out three dragons already!"  
  
"Yeah," Yugi agreed. "Bringing out three powerful monsters is pretty impressive in an opening move."  
  
"Now Seiyaryu! Attack his face down card, Sacred Breath of Fire!" shouted Kiyoji.  
  
His dragon eagerly obeyed exhaling a wave of flames towards Kaiba's face down card, incinerating it. However, before it passed, it flipped face up, revealing to be a mostly purple, spherical blob.  
  
As the flames cremated it, before it passed on, a glob of purple ooze shot towards Kiyoji. It splat against his chest depleting him of 500 life points. Also, Kiyoji felt a sudden burn against his chest for a few seconds, but he didn't even wince at the pain.  
  
"That would be the pain simulators," Kaiba said smugly as he placed two more Giant Germs (1000/100) from his deck, and on his Duel Disk in defense mode. "That's what you get for attacking a Giant Germ. Want to feel it again? Well try attacking me again."  
  
"That barely even hurt," Kiyoji responded, smirking. "I guess I'll end my turn now."  
  
Kaiba: 8000  
  
Kiyoji: 7500  
  
Kaiba's turn-  
  
As Kaiba finished shuffling his deck, he placed it back into his Duel Disk and drew a card.  
  
"Well," Kaiba said, looking at Kiyoji's dragons. "Those overgrown lizards have spared your life points for now. I place one card face down in defense mode and one magic or trap card face down, and end my turn."  
  
"Hmm," Yugi thought, and then said aloud. "Kaiba's doesn't like to play defensively but when he does, he can easily turn the tide in a duel with one card."  
  
"I bet he's just waiting for his Crush Card virus," Joey said, watching the duel in anticipation. "Maybe that's his face down card?"  
  
Kiyoji's turn-  
  
"I've got you on the run now," Kiyoji said, drawing a card. "I first play one card face down, and now! Seiyaryu, attack his face down card, Sacred Breath of Fire!"  
  
Kiyoji's strongest dragon on the field obeyed and began exhaling another wave of flames, about to consume Kaiba's face down card.  
  
"I don't think so," Kaiba said, flipping his face down card. "Activate Trap card! Shadow Spell!"  
  
As Kaiba's face down card flipped face up, actual chains shot out from the ground and out of nowhere from the sky. The chains ensnared Seiyaryu and squeezed tightly, especially around the neck, preventing it from breathing fire.  
  
"My Shadow Spell not only prevents your monster from attacking, but it also lowers the monsters' attack by 700." Kaiba explained. "So my face down monster's untouched."  
  
"Wrong," Kiyoji said, chuckling menacingly. "I'll activate my trap card, Royal Decree!"  
  
All of a sudden, the chains of Shadow Spell vanished completely, releasing Seiyaryu.  
  
"Royal Decree negates every trap card besides itself that is played," Kiyoji announced. "That makes your Shadow Spell useless, and my Seiyaryu is free and at full power, Sacred Breath of Fire!"  
  
Kiyoji's dragon unleashed its wave of flames, wiping out Kaiba's face down card. However, the card flipped face up, revealing to be Kaiba's Slate Warrior. As it was destroyed, it turned into a brown putty-like substance and flew onto Seiyaryu in various areas.  
  
"Now you've done it," Kaiba said. "Slate Warrior has a special effect that when he is destroyed in battle, the card that destroys him loses 500 attack and defense points, making your Seiyaryu a 2100/1800."  
  
"Still doesn't matter," Kiyoji retorted. "I'll let your little germs stick around for a while, so I'll end my turn."  
  
"He's up to something," Yugi said to Joey. "Why would he leave two weak monsters for Kaiba to sacrifice?"  
  
"Maybe he's afraid to get hit by an acid attack again," Joey suggested.  
  
"I'd doubt that," Ryan told Joey. "He didn't even flinch when he got hit. My guess is he wants Kaiba to bring out a powerful monster."  
  
"But because of Royal Decree all his traps'll be useless," Joey said.  
  
"Why don't we just wait and see what's going to happen," Yugi said to them both.  
  
Kaiba's turn-  
  
"Your Royal Decree has turned out to help me more than you," said Kaiba, drawing a card. After seeing the card, he grinned somewhat. "Even more so as you'll see in just a minute. I'll sacrifice one of my Giant Germs to summon... the Beast of Talwar (2400/2150) in attack mode."  
  
The germ on Kaiba's right vanished and it was replaced by a powerful green demon with a pair of blue wings and wielding two curved blades in each hand.  
  
"Now Beast of Talwar, attack Seiyaryu with Twin Talwar Swords!" Kaiba commanded.  
  
Beast of Talwar obeyed and his wings spread out further. Without flapping a wing, Beast of Talwar flew up a few feet and towards Kiyoji's Seiyaryu. In an instant, he was behind Kiyoji's dragon with both of his arms extended out straight. It seemed like nothing happened, but in seconds, Seiyaryu had fallen to the ground in many sliced pieces and vanished from the field.  
  
"That's one dragon down," said Kaiba as Beast of Talwar reappeared on Kaiba's side of the field. "Now I'll switch my Giant Germ into defense mode and set this magic card face down, ending my turn."  
  
Kaiba: 8000  
  
Kiyoji: 7100  
  
"Has Kaiba forgotten how to duel, or what?" asked Joey. "Why'd he tell Kiyoji what his face down card was?"  
  
"Kaiba's up to something," Yugi said to Joey. "I think he's trying to psych Kiyoji out and try to destroy whatever the face down card might be."  
  
Kiyoji's turn-  
  
"Nice try," said Kiyoji, drawing a card. "But I'm not going to waste a card on destroying whatever that is."  
  
'It wouldn't matter anyway,' Kaiba thought. 'It'll be activated one way or another.'  
  
"First I play Pot of Greed allowing me to draw two more cards," Kiyoji said playing the magic card and drew two more cards. "Now then, I first play Spear Dragon (1900/0) in attack mode..."  
  
As Kiyoji's long-nosed dragon appeared, Kaiba knew what it was going to attack.  
  
"I also play Premature Burial and by paying 800 life points to revive... Tyrant Dragon (2900/2500)!" Kiyoji proclaimed, grinning at the jolt he felt from losing 800 life points. "But in order to revive him, I must sacrifice one of my dragons on the field. I'll sacrifice Serpent Night Dragon."  
  
The ground suddenly began to tremble while thunder began roar. A moment later, an immense fissure opened in the middle of the field, and a fountain of magma spewed up from it. A tower of flames rose out of the fissure consuming Serpent Night Dragon, sending it to the graveyard. As sparks flew through the air and molten chunks of rock danced across the ground, an enormous brown dragon with a green jewel on his forehead rose from the crack in the earth. He emitted an ear-shattering roar, which made some of the spectators watching and listening cover their ears. Then the ground shook again as he landed before Kiyoji. The earth then closed up, sealing the fissure, but it was still noticeable that it ripped open.  
  
"Now that's a dragon!" Joey exclaimed watching the TV in awe.  
  
"I'll say," Ryan said to Joey. "With all of its effects, it can be a pain to get rid of if you don't have something strong out already."  
  
"Now Kaiba," Kiyoji began, "Your Blue-Eyes White Dragons will never get a chance to be brought out now. But first, Spear Dragon, wipe out Kaiba's Giant Germ!"  
  
The blue dragon obeyed, taking flight high into the air. Then, the dragon did a barrel-spin with the tip of its nose pointed towards its target.  
  
"That won't work. I activate Dark Wall of Wind!" Kaiba said, flipping over his face down card. "It protects all my monsters from your attacks!"  
  
A dark cloud surrounded Kaiba's monsters and Kiyoji's Spear Dragon was thrown back, unable to penetrate the wall. As Spear Dragon landed back on the ground, it shielded itself with its wings, making it be put in defense mode.  
  
"Emerald Dragon, Tyrant Dragon, attack!" shouted Kiyoji, pointing at Kaiba's Dark Wall of Wind.  
  
Both dragons obeyed flapping their wings to take flight as lightning struck again off in the distance. They opened their mouths and exhaled two breaths of fire; one breath was green and the other was the normal orange flame but bigger than the green. Both the flames hit the dark cloud, but to no avail.  
  
"Can't listen, can you?" asked Kaiba. "For the rest of your turn, my monsters are touchable by yours."  
  
"Fine, I suppose I'll end my turn," Kiyoji said, and oddly not angered.  
  
Kaiba: 8000  
  
Kiyoji: 6300  
  
"Kiyoji can really keep a cool head," Yugi said to Joey and Ryan. "But this is odd. I mean Kiyoji was scared stiff yesterday, but now, it seems to know what he's doing."  
  
"Yeah he has changed..." Joey said, "Do you think he's always like this in a duel, ready for anything?"  
  
"I don't know," Yugi answered. "This is the first time we've seen him duel."  
  
Kaiba's turn-  
  
"Now is the beginning of your imminent defeat," Kaiba said, drawing his card. "And I'm going to take you down even further with this: Spear Dragon (1900/0)!"  
  
As soon as Kaiba's Spear Dragon appeared, everyone watching from the sidelines knew what was going to happen.  
  
"Spear Dragon, attack and kill Kiyoji's Spear Dragon now!" Kaiba ordered.  
  
Kaiba's long-nosed dragon then took flight and did a barrel spin right into and through Kiyoji's Spear Dragon, leaving a fatal wound. But Kaiba's Dragon kept going, virtually slashing Kiyoji's chest for a direct attack, and taking away 1900 of Kiyoji's life points.  
  
"And now that that is done with, I place two magic cards face down, switch my Beast of Talwar in defense mode, and I end my turn," said Kaiba, looking smug at Kiyoji.  
  
Kaiba: 8000  
  
Kiyoji: 4400  
  
Kiyoji's turn-  
  
"I know what you have face down, Kaiba," Kiyoji said to him, while drawing a card. "And I guess I should give you a little handicap so I'll go ahead and keep acting like an amateur."  
  
"What?" Ryan asked in disbelief. "What did he say?"  
  
"'Acting like an amateur'?" Joey said, thinking that's what he heard.  
  
"So he's been holding back the whole time?" asked Mai, walking towards Yugi, Ryan, and Joey.  
  
"I guess," Yugi answered Mai, but still looking at the TV. "This puts the duel in a new perspective."  
  
"Now, Tyrant Dragon, attack Giant Germ!" Kiyoji ordered, showing a maniacal grin. "Volcanic Flames!"  
  
With no delay, Tyrant Dragon flew towards Kaiba's somewhat-spherical germ cell. It began to breathe in for a fatal attack to itself.  
  
"You'll never recover from this! I first activate Mystical Space Typhoon, destroying Royal Decree!" Kaiba announced, flipping it over, causing a cyclone to touch down from the stormy clouds and blowing away Kiyoji's trap card. "And I activate Crush Card, on my Giant Germ!"  
  
Kaiba's Giant Germ suddenly began to turn purple in one area, and quickly spreaded. Tyrant Dragon unleashed a powerful breath of fire towards Kaiba's Giant Germ, but it didn't arrive in time. Giant Germ ruptured open, releasing vital liquids and a purple gas. The gas began to expand rapidly and quickly entered through Tyrant Dragon's nostrils. Tyrant Dragon immediately stopped its fiery breath assault and landed back on the ground. The mighty dragon began to gag while falling to the ground, twitching his arms, legs, and tail. It soon stopped as the virus obliterated his ability to breathe, killing him slowly and painfully.  
  
The purple cloud kept moving towards Kiyoji and entered his Emerald Dragon's lungs and circulatory system. It killed the green scaled dragon as slow as it did Tyrant Dragon, but had the same results nonetheless.  
  
After both of the dragons expired, they vanished from the field and into Kiyoji's graveyard. The purple cloud however didn't affect Kiyoji, or the cards in his hand.  
  
"Now I'll start getting serious," Kiyoji said, looking at his opponent with his twisted grin. "And I'll begin with this: Giant Flood! It wipes out all the monsters on the field and in our hands."  
  
Suddenly, the roaring thunder deafened. Behind Kiyoji arose an enormous, gargantuan wave, coming right for the two of them. When it hit, it took away Kaiba's Spear Dragon and his Beast of Talwar.  
  
"Whoa," Joey said, "Cool effect."  
  
"But where are Kaiba and Kiyoji?" Yugi asked, looking at the TV screen.  
  
As the other finalists looked for the two competitors in the newly made ocean, Salazar said as he looked at the TV screen, "Now this is a Tempest field..."  
  
NOTE: The Japanese card says that Giant Flood can only be played on Main Phase 1, but I bent that rule.  
  
Also, I'm sorry for the long, overdue update. I've been deprived of all computer privileges for a month 'cause of my grades. That and my exams. But now that I have summer off, I can continue with the story. Thank you for your patience. 


	38. Tempest Field: Kaiba VS Kiyoji Part II

Sorry readers, my computer's been in a repair shop for so long. I'm really sorry about all of this, but now, I think my computer's much better now.

As the ocean began to make waves, Kaiba and Kiyoji suddenly appeared on the surface of the water at each of their feet, appeared a somewhat big, wooden boat for each of them that they stood on. The holographic image was aided by a salty smell in the air.  
  
"Whoa," Joey commented from the stands. "So some magic effects are permanent? That's a cool effect."  
  
The storm surrounding the Virtual Field was now stronger than ever. The clouds were black as far as the eye could see; lightning struck the sea frequently, and waves made Kaiba and Kiyoji feel like they were rocking up and down in their boats. Not to mention a cold wind would blow around the two duelists every now and then.  
  
"So Kaiba, do you like the new field?" Kiyoji asked.  
  
"Are you finished?" asked Kaiba, wanting to begin his turn. "You're wasting both of our time."  
  
"Fine then," Kiyoji answered. "I'll place one monster card face down in defense mode, ending my turn."  
  
Hovering about a foot above the ocean, a large card appeared face down and turned sideways.  
  
Kaiba's turn-  
  
"Funny," Kaiba said, drawing his card for the turn. "Right when you started defending in our last duel, you were basically out of the duel. I summon Swordstalker (2000/1600) in attack mode."  
  
The purple-skinned, smirking swordsman appeared right on the bow of Kaiba's boat. As if he were a pirate, he pointed his sword menacingly at Kiyoji.  
  
"Swordstalker, attack Kiyoji's face down card! Shadow Sword!" Kaiba commanded.  
  
A black flame glinted around Swordstalker's blade and gave his usual smirk. Swordstalker bent his knees and took a great leap with his sword over his head. Before landing in the ocean, Swordstalker slashed downwards with his sword, splitting the card in two like an overripe melon. Swordstalker then landed in Kiyoji's boat, but leaped backwards into Kaiba's boat.  
  
"Heh, now you've done it," Kiyoji said, pulling out his deck from his Duel Disk.  
  
Before the card was destroyed, an image of a winged, armored, humanlike dragon felt the attack as it was sent to the graveyard.  
  
"You attacked my Troop Dragon (700/800)," Kiyoji explained, placing another Troop Dragon on to the field in defense mode, and shuffling his deck. "I believe you know what it does. It gives me another Troop Dragon to defend me from my deck."  
  
Another armored dragon appeared to the field, but this one began flapping his wings to stay out of the deep ocean.  
  
"Fine then, I'll end my turn now," Kaiba said to him.  
  
Kiyoji's turn-  
  
"Kaiba, why did you enter this tournament?" Kiyoji asked, drawing his card. "To get even more fame? More money? That's it, isn't it?"  
  
"I don't have to explain myself to the likes of you," Kaiba answered. "Now end your turn."  
  
"Fine, how about this..." Kiyoji began, "If I can knock you down to less than 1000 life points, you tell me why you're here."  
  
"Fine," Kaiba smirked. "But that won't ever happen."  
  
"We'll see," said Kiyoji, continuing his turn. "I first play one magic or trap card face down, and I play the magic card, Card of Sanctity!"  
  
From the sky descended several orbs of light towards Kaiba and Kiyoji. Six orbs landed before Kiyoji and Kaiba had five in front of him. On Kiyoji's Duel Disk, it read, "Draw 6". On Kaiba's Duel Disk, it read, "Draw 5". They each drew until they had six cards in their hand and they looked at their new ones.

Perfect, thought Kiyoji, looking at his drawn card. Kaiba, you'll never touch my life points again.

"Okay, I'll play two cards face down and end my turn," Kiyoji said aloud placing two magic or trap cards into empty slots.

Kaiba's turn-  
  
"You're not going to get anywhere by only defending," Kaiba told Kiyoji while drawing a card. "I'm going to keep summoning powerful monsters until your life points are gone. Here's another one!" Kaiba threw down the card, and a strong, humanlike monster with sharp teeth and a powerful axe appeared on Kaiba's boat, beside Swordstalker on the bow of the ship. "Vorse Raider (1900/1200)! Wipe out his pathetic Troop Dragon!"  
  
Vorse Raider hurled his axe like a boomerang towards Kiyoji's armored winged dragon. Sparks flew as Troop Dragon tried to defend the swinging axe with his buckler shield, but to no avail. The axe shattered through his shield and sliced him down the middle. The axe then flew passed Kiyoji by an inch, and then turned around, flying right into Vorse Raider's hand.  
  
But with Troop Dragon's effect, the third and final Troop Dragon appeared to the field in defense mode. After Kiyoji placed it on the field, he shuffled his deck again.  
  
"Swordstalker, attack the last Troop Dragon, Shadow Sword!" Kaiba commanded.  
  
Swordstalker bent his knees and leaped out of the boat again and the blade on his sword became surrounded in flames again. Troop dragon raised its small sword to try and defend itself from Swordstalker's attack. But Swordstalker easily sliced through the blade and bisected the last Troop Dragon. He once again landed in Kiyoji's boat but quickly jumped back into his master's boat.  
  
Kaiba smirked, feeling well at ease. "I'll end my turn now by placing these two magic or trap cards face down," he said placing the cards in empty slots.  
  
Kiyoji's turn-

Kiyoji drew his card, smirking fiendishly at his newly drawn card.

"Well now," he began. "Kaiba, it's time you were on the receiving end of the life point loss. I play the magic card, Meteor of Destruction!"

Suddenly, out of the dark clouds, an enormous meteor with many flames surrounding a meteor hurdling towards Kaiba. Vorse Raider and Swordstalker saw the meteor coming and jumped out of the boat, diving into the water.

Interactive activity with magic cards... thought Ryan. Incredible—it's as if the monsters are living creatures.

As the massive meteor hit Kaiba directly, he could feel a burning sensation all over for a few seconds. However Kaiba didn't cry out in pain, he never dared to show weakness to his opponent. As the meteor exploded, the force of it hit Kiyoji, but it didn't hurt nearly as much as it did for Kaiba.

"I remember that card," Joey said, "That was the card that ended our duel back in Battle City, Yugi."

"Right," Yugi replied. "It deals 1500 direct damage to the opponent, but the user loses 500 life points at the same time."

When the smoke of the explosion faded from the field, Kaiba's boat was destroyed, but a new one took its place. Vorse Raider and Swordstalker arose from the surface of the explosion and got back in Kaiba's boat.

"I'll end my turn now, Kaiba," Kiyoji said to him, content with the damage he dealt.

Kaiba: 6500

Kiyoji: 3900

Kaiba's turn-

If Kiyoji thinks he's going to turn the tide with a bunch of direct damage cards, he's got another thing coming, thought Kaiba, drawing his card. Perfect, a Blue-Eyes. With nothing to defend him, he's probably going to use one of those facedown cards he has on the field.

"You won't be attacking this turn," Kiyoji said, on cue. "I activate my trap card, Thunder of Ruler! It makes you skip your battle phase."

I'll save my dragon for next turn, Kaiba thought. This'll suffice for now.

"I summon forth Kaiser Seahorse (1700/1650) in attack mode," Kaiba declared.

The purple and blue merman appeared in front of Kaiba, but instead of taking up more room on the boat, he jumped into the water. Capable of breathing water, he was floating right underneath where Swordstalker and Vorse Raider stood.

"Since I can't devastate your life points now, I'll end my turn," Kaiba added.

Kiyoji's turn-

"I'll set this monster facedown on the field in defense mode," he said, placing the card on his Duel Disk. "I'm afraid that's all I can do."

Kaiba's turn-

He's up to something, thought Kaiba. Whatever that card is, he wants me to attack it, and that's just what I'm going to do.

"From Kaiser Seahorse's effect, I can summon a light monster with an attack power higher than 2500 for only one sacrifice," Kaiba explained. "So I'll offer my Kaiser Seahorse to summon Blue-Eyes White Dragon (3000/2500)!"

The purple and blue merman swam swiftly to the surface and leaped ten feet out of the ocean. He illuminated a bright gold and flew into the ever-darkening clouds. The light then dispersed into a golden explosion. From the clouds a light blue figure came falling right towards Kaiba. As it was several feet from hitting Kaiba, two enormous wings revealed themselves and with one mighty flap, it created a force of wind to push against the figure, and it completely stopped its fall. Kaiba looked up and saw hovering overhead was one of his Blue-Eyes White Dragons.

"Excellent," Kaiba said, then pointing to Kiyoji. "Now Blue-Eyes, attack his facedown card, with White Lightning!"

Kaiba's dragon roared in eagerness as its mouth formed a bright white energy around it. It fired the brilliant blast, right at the face down card, but the blast looked powerful enough to destroy the wooden boat Kiyoji was in. However as the blast closed in on the card, it flipped over, revealing its picture: a red, sphere with five spider like legs.

"That's not good," Ryan said, instantly knowing which card it was.

"I knew you'd slip up, Kaiba," Kiyoji said to him. "Blast Sphere, go! Attach to Blue-Eyes!"

The mechanical bomb came right out of the picture and leaped high in the air, avoiding Blue-Eyes' attack. When it landed, it latched onto Blue-Eyes' chest and wouldn't let go. A blue light began flashing at the top center of the bomb.

"Blast Sphere's the last facedown card you'd like to run into," Kiyoji said. "When your next standby phase arrives, that bomb's going to explode, destroying your precious dragon and deal 3000 direct damage to you! So unless you've got some card to save your ass, you're sunk."

"I won't have to worry about that," Kaiba said, "I've got two powerful monsters to wipe out all of your life points. Swordstalker, Vorse Raider! Attack his life points directly!"

Swordstalker's blade ignited in black flames while Vorse Raider pulled his right arm back, aiming at Kiyoji. As Swordstalker leaped towards Kiyoji, Vorse Raider hurled his axe at a great speed.

"I think not," Kiyoji said, flipping a facedown card. "Activate, Waboku!"

As Kaiba's two monsters' attacks were about to strike down, three robed priestesses appeared standing at the bow of Kiyoji's ship. They began to chant something making Swordstalker and Vorse Raider's axe illuminated purple. By some unseen force they were sent back to Kaiba's boat.

Kaiba gave Kiyoji a venomous glare as he said, "I end my turn."

"Then that means, Kaiba's dragon is gonna be destroyed," Ryan said.

"Whoa," Joey said. "I've never seen Kaiba look this pissed in a duel."

Yugi looked over and saw Salazar enjoying every second of this duel now.

Kiyoji's turn-

"You glare at me now," he said drawing his card. "But with my next move, I'll give you something to really glare about. I first play the magic card, Shrink, decreasing your Blue-Eyes' attack in half. But I won't attack it; instead, I'll destroy the other two residing in your deck! I flip my facedown card, Chain Destruction!"

As the card showed its face, a sharp metal spike, connected to a long golden chain shot at Kaiba's dragon. It went in and out of the dragon's neck, not harming it, but the chain flew right into Kaiba's deck.

"Chain Destruction gets rid of any other monster cards of the same name that aren't on the field," Kiyoji explained. "That means your other two dragons are both sent to the graveyard."

Kaiba growled in frustration as he looked through his deck and took out the two Blue-Eyes White Dragons, slipping them into his graveyard.

"And I'll end my turn playing this: Swords of Revealing Light!" He proclaimed, slipping the card in a slot. "No attacking for three turns, Kaiba."

With that, numerous golden swords fell from the sky and stopped in midair in front of Kaiba, glowing brightly.

Now it's time take back what're rightfully mine! thought Kiyoji. Kaiba, there won't be a damn thing you can do about it either...

"Your turn, Kaiba," he said, smirking greatly.

Kaiba's turn-

As soon as Kaiba drew his card, the Blast Sphere attached to his dragon began to glow white, even brighter than the swords surrounding him. Blue-Eyes roared out in struggle, but it was pointless.

"I'm sorry, Blue-Eyes," Kaiba said to it.

Blast Sphere then exploded, almost instantly vaporizing the dragon. The explosion caught Kaiba as well, dealing him a loss of 3000 life points, and the pain simulators made Kaiba feel a great amount of pain of fire and the force of the explosion...

NOTE: I know Chain Destruction works when the monster's summoned, but that was one restriction I got rid of.


	39. Tempest Field: Kaiba VS Kiyoji Part III

When the smoke cleared, Kaiba saw Kiyoji's menacing smirk towards him.

"Having fun?" Kiyoji asked, looking like he'd break out in a maniacal laugh again.

"Draw your card already," Kaiba shot back, glaring at his opponent and ending his turn.

Kaiba: 3500

Kiyoji: 3900

Kiyoji's turn-

"Very well," he replied, drawing his card. "I'll pass my turn, and my Swords of Revealing Light have two turns left."

Kaiba's turn-

_I'll let him use his swords until they fade away,_ thought Kaiba, drawing a card for the turn. _He probably has some more trap cards to defend him, but he needs to feel the wrath of a god. Obelisk will put him in his place. _

"I summon Y-Dragon Head (1600/1500) in defense mode," Kaiba announced. "Since I can't attack this turn, I'll end my turn."

As the red, mechanical dragon appeared, flying over Kaiba's ship, it roared out at Kiyoji. Kiyoji smirked back at the machine, knowing it was no threat.

Kiyoji's turn-

Kiyoji looked over at Kaiba's two facedown cards that he played several turns ago and thought, _you haven't used those cards yet... Ah, I see. Come now, Kaiba, you're going to need to do better than that... _

Kiyoji drew his card and grinned, "Now I'll actually attack you, Kaiba. But you might not like what you'll see. I play Monster Reborn to revive one of your Blue-Eyes White Dragons!"

In a flash of light, a light blue dragon flew out of the ocean's waters. It was one of Kaiba's Blue-Eyes and it roared at its former master. Kiyoji walked over the virtual water to Kaiba, who was starting to growl in frustration.

As Kiyoji arrived in front of Kaiba he said, "I believe you have a card that I need."

Kaiba glared at him again as he pulled a Blue-Eyes out of his graveyard slot and handed it to Kiyoji. Kiyoji gladly placed the card on a slot on his Duel Disk, admiring its picture.

When he arrived to his virtual boat, Kiyoji said, "Now Blue-Eyes, attack Kaiba's Y-Dragon Head with your White Lightning!"

Saying the name of the attack, made Kiyoji grin, thinking he'd be saying those words much more often.

The light blue dragon roared as it pulled its head back charging up a blast of blinding white energy. It fired the bright blast right at Kaiba's red dragon.

"I don't think so!" Kaiba shouted, flipping over his two facedown cards. "I activate Ring of Destruction!"

With that, a metal collar wreathed with eight grenades appeared around Blue-Eyes' neck. The dragon stopped its attack with the energy blast vanishing, inches away from Y-Dragon Head's head.

"I also activate Ring of Defense to keep me from losing any life points," Kaiba added. "So you'll be the only one to lose 3000 life points."

Kiyoji began to laugh as the blue dragon exploded and the flames flew at both duelists. Almost instantly after the flames emerged, a four-bladed ring appeared in front of Kaiba and began spinning like a fan, making the flames go nowhere near Kaiba.

"Nice try, but you brought this on yourself," Kiyoji sneered, playing a card from his hand as the flames consumed him. "I play the quick-play magic card, Curse of Pain! It reverses any direct damage done to me and sends it right back to you!"

Even though the flames were engulfing Kiyoji, Kaiba was feeling the searing pain, losing another 3000 life points.

"Whoa!" Joey exclaimed. "Kiyoji hit Kaiba hard again."

"Now he's only got 500 life points left," Mai added. "Pretty much anything could take him out now."

"I'll end my turn," Kiyoji said, slipping Kaiba's Blue-Eyes into his graveyard slot. "Oh, and my Swords of Revealing Light have only one turn left."

Kaiba: 500

Kiyoji: 3900

Kaiba's turn-

_I can't believe this,_ thought Kaiba while drawing a card. _He could actually beat me... No, he can't! I've already got three monsters out, and I just need Obelisk to finish this punk off, but it won't be this turn. _

"Oh, I almost forgot," Kiyoji said to Kaiba, turning his attention towards him. "I guess the impossible has happened. You said if I could knock you down to less than a thousand life points, you'd tell me your reason to be here. Start talking."

Kaiba scowled at him, but kept to his word. "Fine. You want to know why I'm here? It's not for fame or money. This is far more important. I came here to get even with Salazar. I came here to redeem myself and crush Salazar!"

Yugi looked over at Salazar and saw him with the same smirk on his face.

_'So now Kaiba wants revenge on Salazar,'_ Yugi thought to himself. _'So I see the vision was right.' __  
_  
"I shall summon one card facedown in defense mode and place two magic or trap cards facedown," Kaiba said, placing the two cards onto his Duel Disk. "I'll also switch all my monsters, Vorse Raider, Swordstalker, and Y-Dragon Head into attack mode!"

The last move Kaiba did, surprised some of the spectators watching, including Salazar.

_'A bold move, Kaiba,'_ Salazar thought. _'I never thought you'd ever bluff, but then again, my little puppet has you on the ropes.'_

Kiyoji's turn-

"Another trap, Kaiba?" Kiyoji asked, drawing his card for the turn. "Any risk you take could be your last, you know."

"If you think it's a trap, attack me," Kaiba said, brandishing a smug smile. "Oh, wait. You won't. You like to play it safe without attacking with monsters."

Suddenly, Kiyoji began to lose his cool, "What do you mean?"

"If you defeat me with a card that deals direct damage, you'll just be proving my point," Kaiba taunted. "You're afraid to attack me head on. Because you know I'd beat you that way."

"Shut up," Kiyoji said, getting agitated. "I don't need to use any direct damage cards. I could crush you like an ant!"

"Then prove it," Kaiba demanded. "Attack me with a monster card."

Blinded by Kaiba's dare, Kiyoji said, "Fine then! I play Déjà Vu. This card allows me to bring a magic card that was sent to the graveyard on my last turn at the cost of discarding one card from my hand. I choose Monster Reborn! And I'll use Monster Reborn to revive your Blue-Eyes again!"

Out of the ocean's waters, the Blue-Eyes White Dragon that suffered an untimely fate of Ring of Destruction flew out, hovering above Kiyoji and his boat as he slipped the magic card, Ookazi into the graveyard.

"Now my Blue-Eyes White Dragon, attack—" Before Kiyoji could finish, a shrill, loud noise deafened his voice. "AGH! What's that noise?"

On the bow of Kaiba's ship, a one-headed totem pole, resembling an eagle, wings spread, was emitting the noise from its beak.

"That would be my Command Silencer," Kaiba said, unaffected by the shrill noise. "It unleashes a blast of sound deafening your monster from hearing your command. Plus, I'm allowed to draw a card."

Kaiba did so, making Kiyoji aggravated. Kiyoji had only one direct damage card in his hand: Ookazi, but he had just discarded it, confident he could beat Kaiba with brute force. If he defeated Kaiba so easily, it'd be a hollow victory for him.

"I'll place this card facedown and end my turn now," Kiyoji announced. "My Swords of Revealing Lights have ended as well."

One by one, the golden illuminating swords vanished without a trace, allowing Kaiba's monsters to attack again.

Kaiba's turn-

_Good,_ thought Kaiba. _He won't use a direct damage card for the time being. I'll need to blind him even further so he thinks he is unstoppable... but how?_

Kaiba drew his card for the turn and saw it was Obelisk. _Yes, this could work then! Obelisk, don't worry; we shall both get our revenge._

"Prepare yourself!" Kaiba declared. "I sacrifice Y-Dragon Head, Vorse Raider, and Swordstalker to summon The Immense Devine Soldier of Obelisk (4000/4000)!"

The black clouds began to roar near the two duelists. Lightning was striking the water in front of them and emitting roars of thunder. As the lightning continued to strike, out of the heavens, the blue Egyptian God descended and landing behind Kaiba's boat. The towering behemoth stood on the water as its presence seemed to frighten Kiyoji's Blue-Eyes.

"An Egyptian God?" Kiyoji said to himself, impressed with its size. He then said to Kaiba. "I don't care if your monster is bigger than the ocean, I'll still defeat you! Come on and attack me!"

"But I choose to not attack," Kaiba responded. "I want Obelisk to use his special technique on you. It requires two monsters to sacrifice and it will devastate you. I'll end my turn now."

Kiyoji's turn-

When Kiyoji drew his card for the turn, he grinned.

"I play Card of Demise," Kiyoji said, "It allows me to draw cards until I have five. Five turns from now, I'll have to discard my hand however. But I doubt I'll reach there."

When Kiyoji drew four cards, he looked at them and began laughing hysterically.

"It's over Kaiba," he proclaimed. "All over! You should've destroyed my Blue-Eyes when you had the chance! Here's my winning combo! I first play Autonomous Action Unit; by paying 1500 life points, I can summon a monster from your graveyard! And I choose another Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"

As Kiyoji's life points dropped to 2400, many different robots appeared floating in front of his boat. They flew towards into the ocean and attached to something. The attached thing arose from the ocean's waters, revealing to be another Blue-Eyes White Dragon. The only thing keeping this dragon alive were the machines attached to him like a life support machine.

"Next, I'll flip my facedown card, Time Machine!" Kiyoji exclaimed. "It can bring back a monster card from the graveyard before in the same mode before it was destroyed. I choose to bring back your last Blue-Eyes!"

To Kiyoji's right, a cloud of smoke appeared. The winds blew the cloud away to reveal a metal machine, resembling a closet. The door opened up and two piercing Blue-Eyes looked out at Kaiba. Out of it flew Kaiba's last dragon, but attached to the dragon's chest was Blast Sphere.

"Since this dragon was destroyed by way of Blast Sphere, it remains attached to him, about to explode as I end my turn," Kiyoji informed Kaiba. "But it won't explode. Because I play this: Polymerization! Now my dragons, fuse together to form the almighty Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon (4500/3800)!"

All three of the dragons roared at Kaiba, as if regretting what they were about to do. They each illuminated white and flew high into the black clouds. Lightning flashed as they collided together, fusing together. What emerged from the clouds was a massive, blue dragon, with three fearsome heads and two mighty wings that looked like they could destroy several houses with one flap.

"Your God Card may be strong," Kiyoji began. "But my dragon is even stronger! Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, destroy Obelisk and wipe out the rest of your old master's life points! Neutron Blast!"

The three heads of the dragon obeyed each one gathering energy into its mouths. When enough brilliant white energy was gathered, they fired their blasts at Obelisk. The three blasts merged together, but still didn't look like it could destroy the Egyptian God. Before the blasts would hit, a mystical elf appeared in front of Kaiba and began chanting. The blasts hit their mark, but it took about took a few seconds of the blast to make Obelisk give in. The energy overwhelmed him and blasted a huge hole through his chest. Obelisk then fell into the ocean as the Mystical Elf gave Kaiba a ball of white energy and he accepted it. A huge cloud of smoke was surrounding Kaiba and his boat, making Kiyoji think he was wiped out.

"Farewell, Kaiba," Kiyoji taunted, grinning over his victory.

However, when he discovered the stormy duel field they were playing on was still as it was, he knew the duel wasn't over.

"What's going on?" he asked. "I wiped out the rest of your life points. This duel should be over!"

As the smoke cleared, Kaiba and the boat he stood on were still in the ocean.

"It would've been, but I had a little card help me out," Kaiba explained, revealing the facedown card he had on the field. "Before Obelisk was attacked, I played Gift of the Mystical Elf. It increases my life points by 300 for each monster on the field. That gives me 600 life points left."

Aggravated, Kiyoji growled, "Damn it... I end my turn..."

Kaiba: 600

Kiyoji: 2400

Kaiba's turn-

When Kaiba looked at his drawn card, he sighed to himself.

"This has been an interesting duel, Kiyoji, but I'm going to end it," Kaiba said. "I first play the magic card, Nightmare Binding, playing it on Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon."

As the magic card was played, dark energy ensnared the massive, three-headed dragon, causing it to roar in pain for a few seconds, then the dark energy moved to Kaiba, relaxing him slightly.

"Nightmare Binding depletes one monster card's attack points by 800 and those attack points get added to my life points, giving me 1400," Kaiba explained as he was playing another card. "And now I have enough to play Bond of Brothers. By paying 1000 of my life points, I can special summon two monsters of the same name from my deck to the field."

As Kaiba's life points dropped to 400, he looked through his deck and picked out two cards and placed them on the field, making two winged, green dragons fly in front of him.

"I summon my two Thunder Dragons (1600/1500) in attack mode," said Kaiba as he placed his shuffled deck back into its slot. "And now, I play my final card, Monster Reborn! And I will bring back the Immense Devine Soldier of Obelisk!"

As Kaiba slipped the card into a slot and brought out his God Card, the tempest field they were on was going insane. Waves were crashing into each other, the winds were howling, and lightning was striking the ocean near and far.

The duelists watching on the balcony all had their attention turned to the TV, also hearing the noises of the storm in stereo.

And suddenly, the water around Kaiba and Kiyoji's boats began descend, and rise up in a column around them. The water continued to do so until their boats were touching the dry ground of the ocean floor, and vanishing seconds after. Both of them looked up seeing the column tower over them by what looked like, 50 feet. The Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon and the two Thunder Dragons flew down and went on to their respective master's side. Behind Kaiba, a large and ominous figure was standing behind the wall of water, only about ten feet shorter than the column of water. As it took one step forward, the ground shook, and a part of the left foot could be seen, emerged from the water. As another step was taken, the ground shook again, and the right foot was completely out, as was some of the massive body. After one more step from the left, the entire figure emerged, shaking the ground again, and revealing the God of light and darkness: Obelisk.

_He did it,_ thought Yugi. _Kaiba won._

Kiyoji was indeed frightened by the sight of this monster now, but to him, it was still a monster and he would never show weakness to Kaiba.

"Due to Nightmare Binding, Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon is weaker than Obelisk by 300 attack points," Kaiba pointed out. "So, Obelisk, destroy Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon now! God Hand Crusher!"

Obelisk obeyed Kaiba's command, but instead of throwing his right hand forward, he struck the three-headed dragon with his left. The attack was still the same, dealing a haymaker of a blow to the dragon, shattering through its light blue armor, revealing its blood and throwing it into the ocean, making Kiyoji's life points drop to 2100.

Kiyoji's eyes widened in terror as the strongest monster he ever had had just been wiped out. He then looked at the other two dragons Kaiba possessed and together, they would destroy the remainder of his life points. He wanted to fall to his knees, but his legs were stiff. Salazar's spell over him was no longer working.

"You're mistaken if you think I'm going to have my dragons finish you off," Kaiba said to him. "I destroyed my dragon first so it wouldn't have to go through what's in store for you. You made a big mistake: you got a god angry."

Kiyoji's mouth was suddenly dry, he was short of breath, and no witty remark could save him now.

"I sacrifice my two Thunder Dragons to give Obelisk his ultimate attack: Soul Energy MAX!"

After hearing this, Salazar's smug smile faded. However, everyone else was too focused into the duel to notice.

As Obelisk grasped a dragon in each hand and turned the two dragons into pure energy. The energy was flaring red, and Obelisk's blue color began to turn a slight red, resembling purple.

"Now, Obelisk! Wipe out the last of his life points!" Kaiba commanded.

Obelisk pulled back both of his massive fists, and paused for a second, causing the virtual projection to cease function and make the room they were in white again. The cameras were still working showing Kiyoji, Kaiba, and Obelisk. Then, the god threw both his fists out, unleashing two large amounts of surging energy towards Kiyoji Hiraga. The energy collided into Kiyoji with such force, it threw him off his feet and slammed him into the wall behind.

The TVs' screens were completely white and soon what showed up was static. Salazar looked over at Croquet, and Croquet pulled out a cell phone and started talking to someone. A moment later, the virtual room they were in, opened up and the platform arose, showing Seto Kaiba standing and his opponent, Kiyoji Hiraga was lying on the ground.

Note: Command Silencer's a card seen only in the anime used in Yugi and Kaiba's duel at Battle City. I couldn't discover the card's effect anywhere except for the anime itself. Card of Demise is another card anime card used in Yugi and Kaiba's duel, Nightmare Binding is used in the Doom Saga in Yugi and Rafael's first duel, and Bond of Brothers is another card seen only in the anime.

Yeah, and Déjà Vu was a card I made up. I ran out of actual revival cards, so I made one up.

Also, I'm very sorry about my absence. I needed a break. But I promise to get this story done.


End file.
